Darkest Night
by Nostalgicmiss
Summary: Alice's Version of New Moon, her voyage of Self Discovery and the vision that changed everything.
1. Prologue Normal

Everything Twilight belongs to the talented Stephenie Meyer.

This is just a quick chapter/prologue so we know what was behind Alice's thought about Bella's birthday and a brief account of the Summer. I hope to have the first Chapter up soon. I look forward to hearing your comments/reviews as always.

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**Prologue**

Bella Swan was possibly the most stubborn person I knew, apart from Edward, that is. No presents? I really couldn't believe that was how she really felt. Even as a vampire I loved gifts, I could only imagine how exciting it would be as a human.

I didn't even know when my birthday was, that part of my life had been a dark mystery that Jasper and I were working on solving. We didn't have a lot to go on, but thanks to Bella, and largely at her expense, I now had something, which was a lot better than nothing.

The episode in Phoenix still made me shudder, but Bella was back to normal. She had no cast to remind us of that fateful time. I had spent a majority of the Summer at the Swan residence helping out. Charlie had thanked me eternally for my help, as had Bella. I saved Charlie from having to bathe her in her fragile state.

Edward never thanked me, mainly because he would see what I was seeing as he waited patiently for us downstairs, it made it even more difficult for him to abstain. I never revealed this to Bella of course, she would have been mortified. I would, however, reprimand Edward for peeking.

Things were back to the way we wanted them to be, everyone seemed to be happy. Rosalie and Emmett were on another honeymoon, under the pretense they had moved to college. They were returning today for Bella's birthday, it had been a while since we had celebrated one. Not to mention, we had finally started our senior year. I was excited, I was going through my first senior year with a friend, and a mortal friend at that. Bella's humanity was infectious, I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. It was one of the more enjoyable summers I'd had. Jasper still kept a safe distance from Bella, but she always included him, that was just who Bella was.

I was planning a little get together for Bella's birthday when my plan was thwarted by Edward.

"Alice, you know how she feels about that."

"I do, but I think she'll enjoy it. You don't turn eighteen every year."

"Don't say that to _her_." Edward laughed. Turning a year older had become a source of anxiety for Bella, Edward was forever seventeen and she refused to become older than him, and he was refusing to change her. Unfortunately, for Bella, nature was against her.

I rolled my eyes and checked off the things to do on my list. "Look I compromised with you, Edward, it's just going to be us."

"I know, but Bella's being irrational and stubborn. She begged me not to be there when she wakes up this morning, she's afraid she'll look older!"

I laughed at this, "Bella, irrational and Stubborn, I don't believe it."

Edward laughed and ruffled my hair. "We're leaving in ten minutes. Be ready."

I nodded and headed towards my room. I wondered how hard it would be to get Bella to the house, I was hoping to get Edward to help, especially when I rummaged through the future to check.

Jasper was laying on the bed with his headphones on, his foot was tapping rhythmically to the song that was playing. He grinned at me as I climbed onto the bed and into his strong arms. He wrapped them tightly around me.

"I miss you when you're gone you know." He said pulling off the headphones quietly. "I get so bored waiting for you to get home."

I kissed his neck gently and rocked to my knees, breaking free of his embrace. I leaned forward and kissed him gently. His lips moved with mine as his hands moved slowly to my hair. I giggled and pulled away from him.

"School." I sighed and hopped of the bed.

Jasper rolled his eyes and watched me dance around the room gathering my things.

"Don't forget to let Rose and Emmett sign the card, oh and remember to take the radio out of the box before you wrap it, put it in the garage. She'll refuse otherwise."

"Card, box, garage, got it." he grinned.

I rushed towards the bed and kissed him before I headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 1 Birthday

_Hi Guys, Welcome back._

_All things Twilight belong to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer. (The Host was awesome!)_

_Thank you to those who have already reviewed, you're tremendous. I will update every other day (Actually everyday but I wanna give myself some time in case something comes up.) My goal is to be finishing Alice's version of Eclipse when Breaking Dawn is released, because you know that as much as I love to write I won't be able to put off reading breaking Dawn as soon as it's in my hands :)_

_Songs for Thought: Bliss by Muse and Hands open by Snow Patrol (The playlist can be found on my profile. Enjoy)  
_

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**Chapter One - Birthday**

We arrived at school, as always, with plenty of time to spare. Edward always drove fast. Not that I complained, I preferred it that way. I was clinging to the carefully wrapped gift in my hands. Edward had asked me for my help and graciously offered to share the sentiment. I think it was due to that fact that he didn't want to give her a gift and reap the consequences. Bella didn't want to acknowledge her birthday, I couldn't understand it at all.

Edward had warned me not to push Bella too much. Her birthday had become a touchy subject, especially since she had decided she wanted to be one of us. Edward would never agree to that though, so they were still battling it out every chance they got.

Our gift was a simple CD, I had helped Edward with recording his compositions for Bella, she had always been so touched that he had written her a lullaby, Edward wanted to make it as immortal as he was for her. Simple, but effective. I knew that she would appreciate it more than anything else she received. It was homemade, and it was from the heart. It seemed to fit.

We leaned against the Volvo waiting for the familiar red truck to enter the parking lot. It was steadily filling as we waited. I was amazed at how things had changed, from the time we returned from Phoenix and began interacting more with Bella, we seemed to become a little more accepted. Bella still grumbled that the group were hesitant, but Edward and I took what we could get. It was more than we had before, and that was good enough for us.

We heard the truck before we saw it. Edward had considered getting her a car for her birthday but he knew how she would react to that, so he'd gone with his intuition, and used me as a crutch.

I'd never seen him happier than he had been for the last couple of months, he was almost a different person. He had always been my favorite brother, but as happy as Edward was it was, almost impossible not to spend time with him, or Bella.

Bella pulled into a parking spot a little way down from us and climbed out. I was almost hopping on the spot I was so excited. Edward shot me a warning look, but I ignored it. I was hoping that I could take the frown, that Bella wore today, from her face. She slammed her door closed and headed towards us, I couldn't contain myself and skipped ahead to greet her.

"Happy birthday, Bella!" I sang as I closed the gap between us.

"Shh!" Bella hissed through her teeth and looked around the emptying parking lot to make sure no one heard.

"Do you want to open your present now or later?" I asked as I walked beside her towards Edward.

"No presents," she mumbled unhappily. She really was taking the whole end of the world dramatization a little far so I decided to drop it. . . for now.

"Okay . . . later, then. Did you like the scrapbook your mom sent you? And the camera from Charlie?"

She looked at me quizzically for a second, then shrugged her shoulders. I was guessing she putting my knowledge down to my visions, little did she know Renee and I had spoken about it last week.

Renee had called me in a panic, she wasn't sure what to get Bella. I wasn't sure why she was so upset about it but I had given her a few ideas, I saw as soon as she had chosen which she would go with.

"Yeah. They're great."

Ugh, I hated seeing Bella wallow in self pity like this. "_I_ think it's a nice idea. You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience."

"How many times have _you_ been a senior?" she asked, her sarcasm flowing freely.

"That's different." I said defensively, and it was. I didn't have a choice in the matter and I was almost certain that I hadn't made it to being a senior when I was human.

We reached Edward and he held his hand out for her. This was the only thing about being with the two of them alone, their affection made me miss Jasper desperately. It was silly, seeing as it was only a couple of hours but the emotion was there and I could do nothing to remove it. Jasper was always there for me, and I hated when we pretended to be in different grades because there would always be a year at school without him. I couldn't feel too sorry for myself though, now I had Bella and Edward. We fell into step and headed towards the school.

"So, as discussed, I am not allowed to wish you a happy birthday, is that correct?" Edward asked Bella casually.

"Yes. That is correct."

"Just checking." I picked up the teasing tone in his voice but I wasn't sure if Bella had noticed. "You _might_ have changed your mind. Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts."

I laughed, I couldn't help myself. It seemed so odd to me that an occasion such as a birthday could cause such a dour mood. "Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to be nice to you today and give you your way, Bella. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Getting older," I had asked for that, I had given her a way to slip into the excuse she'd used for the month or so.

"Eighteen isn't very old," I started, trying to ignore the statement."Don't women usually wait till they're twenty-nine to get upset over birthdays?"

"It's older than, Edward," I rolled my eyes and heard Edward sigh on the other side of her.

"Technically," I said out loud, trying to keep the atmosphere lighter than the morose mood Bella was now projecting over us. "Just by one little year, though."

'_Sorry Edward,'_ I said in my head, I noticed Bella had a line across her brow, she wasn't frowning, she was thinking. I knew what that meant. I had made her think about that one little year and now she was considering the alternative again.

My fault, time for a subject change.

"What time will you be at the house?" I asked trying to keep my expression innocent. Maybe a little too innocent.

"I didn't know I had plans to be there." she glanced out of the corner of her eye at me. I could see the grin she was trying to hold in.

"Oh, be fair, Bella! You aren't going to ruin all our fun like that, are you?" I demanded, fighting the urge to stamp my foot like an infant.

"I thought my birthday was about what _I _want."

"I'll get her from Charlie's right after school," Edward said directly to me. I fought the urge to smile. I was glad I'd persuaded him to help. He was my biggest Ally.

"I have to work," Bella was pulling out all the stops now, but I was always one step ahead.

"You don't, actually," I answered triumphantly. "I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it. She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy Birthday.'"

Bella's eyes spread wide in panic, "I — I still can't come over, I, well, I haven't watched _Romeo and Juliet _yet for English."

I snorted, "you have _Romeo and Juliet_ memorized." she was scrambling now, desperately.

"But Mr. Berty said that we needed to see it performed to full appreciate it — that's how shakespeare intended it to be presented."

Edward rolled his eyes, he could see her very desperate attempt to wiggle out of any celebration for her birthday. I could be stubborn too.

"You've already seen the movie," I argued. She was being unnecessarily difficult.

"But not the nineteen-sixties version. Mr. Berty said it was the best."

I felt the smile disappear from my lips, she was more stubborn than I gave her credit for, I was going to have to think about this one. Or. . . I could threaten her, that was always fun.

"This can be easy, or this can be hard, Bella, but one way or the other—"

This was too much for Edward, he jumped in to defend her.

"Relax, Alice. If Bella wants to watch a movie, then she can. It's her birthday."

"So there," Bella added looking close to sticking her tongue out at me.

"I'll bring her over around seven," he said to me smiling, "That will give you more time to set up."

I laughed I couldn't help myself, I had her beat. She could stall all she wanted but in the end I would get my way. "Sounds good. See you tonight, Bella! It'll be fun, you'll see." I grinned and gave her a peck on the cheek, and disappeared before she could feed me another excuse. This was going to be fun, it was just us, I had considered inviting more people. But with Jasper, struggling as he was right now and Bella being in a foul mood, it would have been a disaster.

I decided I would lay of the birthday talk for the rest of the day, at least until she came to the house tonight. So at lunch I held my tongue.

By the time the day was over I was about out of my seat, I had so much to do. The flowers were ready to be picked up, I knew that Esme had gone to Port Angeles to pick them up for me. All I had to do was arrange them and it wasn't going to take long. I had Esme pick up a cake whilst she was there. I didn't know the first thing about baking so I knew it would be a better choice for Bella to eat a professionally made cake, than some concoction I would come up with.

Edward left with Bella and I took the Volvo home, I needed to hang lanterns, arrange the roses, make sure all the presents were ready, get Jasper fed. I parked the Volvo in the garage and fled into the house.

"Esme," I called quietly. She appeared from around the corner and grinned at me.

"Did you get them?"

"In there." Esme answered pointing to the fridge we never used. I pulled the door open and looked inside. It was full to the brim with pink roses. I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to look at the cake that was balanced precariously on the top shelf with more roses.

"I had them decorate it." She said pulling it down from the shelf and placing it on the counter next to me.

I looked at the cake, Esme had done a wonderful job. It was the same pink as the roses and it had 'Happy Birthday Bella' written on the top. I knew that Bella would end up loving it, no matter how much she grumbled about it.

"It's beautiful Esme." I threw my arms around her neck and kissed her cheek.

"I'm glad you think so, do you need any help with those lanterns?"

I nodded and fled to the garage again. I had stored all of the birthday supplies there knowing Bella would never go in there. Edward hadn't let the small gathering be a surprise but he let me keep the details to myself.

Out in the front meadow Esme and I stood back to admire our work, it looked beautiful. We had placed the roses in bowls and lined them on either side of the steps leading up to the house. It would look perfect, it was dusk now and it looked good. We didn't have long until Edward and Bella would be arriving so I decided I would get the cake and everything that went with it out so I could decorate it.

I ran towards the house, the angle at which we had placed the roses had a nice effect. We had brought them closer to the middle the higher the steps went. I climbed up them, grinning. Rosalie stepped out of the door as I got closer.

"Looks good, Alice." I raised my eyebrows. The honeymoon must have done them some good, she seemed very relaxed .

"Thanks, Rose." I skipped past her into the house. Emmett was stood staring at the cake. I rose my eyebrows. "And what, exactly, are you doing Emmett?"

"Hey, Alice."

I smiled and picked up the cake from in front of him. There were some spare roses that I was planning on decorating the base of the cake with.

"So, what are you up to."

His big grin told me that I wouldn't have appreciated it, whatever it was. He was planning on messing with the cake, or maybe he already had. I examined it quickly, I couldn't see anything out of place, but with Emmett, you never knew. He could be sneaky.

"Emmett?" I smiled sweetly.

"Alice,"

"What did you do to the cake?"

Emmett tried to keep his face straight, replacing it with mock horror. "Alice, what are you trying to imply?"

I narrowed my eyes, and looked at him again. Rosalie had told me to used that look when I wanted to intimidate him.

"I swear, Alice. Nothing."

I nodded and headed towards the piano. It was almost seven. Edward was always punctual, but in that snail Bella called a vehicle we would have a little extra time.

"Jasper?" I hummed quietly. He was at my side before I blinked. "Did you wrap the box?"

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. He planted a kiss firmly on my lips and I melted like butter. He'd forgotten.


	3. Chapter 2 The Party

_The Twilight universe belongs to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Okay I hope I did this chapter Justice, I had a plan for it and it kinda built from there. as crazy as it sounds Alice is bopping around in my head and very seldom has a quiet moment, (I became Insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity, E. A. Poe) who can blame her though she's about to get a story of her own._

_Thank you for your reviews, as always you guys Rock it._

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**Chapter Two - The Party**

After catching up with the wrapping and the plan that we were going to put the stereo into poor unsuspecting Bella's truck, we were finally ready. Emmett was going to be installing the radio. He was quick and always did a good job with the wires.

Edward and I would be giving Bella our gift last, we were excited about the CD, so we wanted her reaction to be big. We knew that Esme and Carlisle's gift was going to go over well because she hadn't seen Renee since she'd left the hospital in Phoenix, and I knew that she hated that the reunion had been on such uncomfortable terms.

"Where are they, Alice?" Rose asked. Her hand was on her hip and she was feigning impatience. She just wanted to see Bella's reaction to their gift, no matter how vehemently she denied it.

"They're in Bella's truck Rose, be patient." I sighed as I made sure everything was in it's rightful place. I wanted a smile from Bella, not the scowl and frown she'd worn all day at school.

"I'm bored."

"Rose." Emmett whispered in her ear gently. "Behave."

"Alright, I'm sorry."

I looked at Jasper, he was unusually quiet tonight, I had just noticed his silence because of the lull in conversation. I headed towards him smiling, but as I got closer I realized what I had forgotten to do.

"Jasper, I am so sorry. I promised you didn't I." I lifted my hand and gently stroked the dark circles under his eyes. They were a little bit darker than they should have been. I hadn't gone hunting with him, like he'd asked me to. I knew it was harder for him to be around Bella than the rest of us, and I'd just put him in the most awkward of situations.

"It's okay," he smiled brightly and kissed my forehead gently. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

I shook my head sadly and rested it on his shoulder, his hand swept up to the middle of my back and he rubbed gently, soothing me. I didn't deserve that, but Jasper was a loving man, and I couldn't step away from him when he was being so affectionate.

"They're here." Carlisle said pacing into the room.

I couldn't move myself away from Jasper, I felt like I had neglected him. "Go on, Alice. You arranged this thing baby."

"I'll wait," I smiled up at him tentatively. He returned the smile, which helped me relax a little. I hated to see him uncomfortable.

As the two of them entered the door, I let the grin out. I was looking for a reaction to the hard work Esme and I had put into making this special for her. Edward pulled her towards him briefly and kissed the top of her head. It suddenly dawned on me how daunting this all was to Bella, I had to get her out of this frame of mind. Especially if she wanted to join this family, being a wallflower was not an option.

Esme stepped forward and hugged her gently, kissing her briefly on the forehead. The maternal smile never leaving her soft features. As she stepped away Carlisle wrapped his arm around her should and grinned. "Sorry about this, Bella, we couldn't rein Alice in."

I rolled my eyes and laughed along with them, it was true I did have a proficiency with this type of thing, and we never had much occasion to throw a party before. Bella's gaze moved around the room to Rosalie and Emmett.

"You haven't changed at all," Emmett was mocking disappointment but the huge grin stayed plastered to his face. "I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always."

"Thanks a lot, Emmett," Bella's cheeks grew a deeper shade of red, but her smile was faultless.

Emmett stepped around the group and laughed, "I have to step out for a second" — He winked at me conspicuously — "don't do anything funny while I'm gone."

"I'll try,"

I let go of Jasper's hand and stepped forward, the grin was now plastered to my face. I couldn't help myself. Bella smiled genuinely at Jasper behind me. "Time to open presents," I announced happily, and I guided Bella towards the table that held the cake and presents.

"Alice, I told you I didn't want anything—"

I cut her off, "But I didn't listen, open it." I said pulling the camera from her hands and replacing it with the empty stereo box. I had arranged she open the box while Emmett installed it, he was happy about that.

Bella read the tag on the top of the box and sighed lightly and she pulled the wrapping away. She stared at the empty box she held in her hands, a complete look of confusion filled her eyes as she tried to see what it was. She opened it to figure out the mystery, but the box was empty.

"Um . . . Thanks."

I heard Jasper laughing behind me, "It's a stereo for your truck," he said happily. "Emmett's installing it right now so you can't return it."

I grinned at Bella as she shook her head at me, smiling. I'd won and she knew it.

"Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie." she said grinning. "Thanks, Emmett!" she said a little louder. Emmett's laugh came flowing into the house from the meadow outside, Bella laughed too.

"Open mine and Edward's next." I could hear the shrillness of my tone, but I could no longer contain my excitement. I held out the small, flat, silver square. Bella turned to Edward, "You promised,"

Emmett bounded happily into the room, cutting off any answer Edward was about to give her. "Just in time!" he added, as he squeezed in behind Jasper, who I hadn't noticed had gotten a little closer in the anticipation.

"I didn't spend a dime." Edward told her brushing a strand of hair from her face. Bella inhaled a large, over-exaggerated breath, and turned to me. "Give it to me," she sighed.

I grinned and heard Emmett chuckle across the room. Bella took the package and rolled her eyes, she stuck her finger under the paper and slid it along the edge under the tape. The instant she did this, my mind clouded over with red and I saw Jasper charging. I drew a sharp breath, but before I could do a thing Bella had a drop of blood on her finger and Jasper was launching himself in her direction.

"No," Edward yelled, and threw himself at Bella, she fell across the table knocking the crystal plates and cake to the floor with her. She landed hard in the shattered shards as Jasper slammed into Edward at full impact causing the windows to tremble at the deafening blow. Jasper was snarling and fighting to get past Edward with every little bit of strength he had, his teeth bared and snapping inches from Edward's face. I was frozen in what could have been interpreted as shock. My feet wouldn't move. I had never seen Jasper when his blood lust had taken over, he was always so controlled when we hunted. . . When we hunted! This was all my fault. The guilt began gnawing at me, I wanted a black hole to open and swallow me on the spot.

Emmett stepped in and pulled Jasper back holding him in the steely grip of his arms, Jasper continued to struggle and I could see the difference in his eyes, glazed and dead. I was sure this was where the term 'living dead' came from. There was none of the compassionate, loving man in those eyes. This was the bitter truth of our kind, this was what we were.

That was when the smell hit me. The warm, red, inviting blood called to all of us, and it was gushing freely from Bella's new injury, a large, open gash running the length of her arm. I stopped breathing mid breath. I had to keep my mind. The smell lingered in my senses, my body was losing control and it craved what Bella had. My throat became tight, calling out to scarlet liquid that we tried so hard to abstain from.

"Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside." Carlisle demanded in his most authoritative tone. Emmett, unsmiling nodded as he complied. "Come on, Jasper."

Jasper continued to struggle against Emmett's iron grasp, his eyes still blank as he twisted and struggled against them. I snapped out of whatever had taken over me, holding my breath had meant that the smell was now gone, and I had to focus again. I heard a low and dangerous growl emit from where Bella was still sprawled on the floor, I glanced over quickly. Edward's stance was protective as he leaned over her, his eyes were focused on Jasper.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Esme cried from the other side of the room. I looked towards where Esme was now holding the door open for Emmett and Rosalie as they struggled to pull Jasper from the house. She followed them out, the shame evident on her soft features.

My chest lurched. Poor Jasper, he wasn't going to take this well when he came around. He always took it badly when he lapsed, but it had never been someone he knew and regarded as family before, and I was sure that he would be inconsolable. If I went to him now, he wouldn't hear reason. I had to let him relax and unwind before he would let me close.

All I could do now was offer my help to Carlisle and Bella. I didn't think I would be able to help for long but I was going to do everything in my power to help as much as possible. I disappeared upstairs and pulled a towel from the linen closet. I knew that this could help control the bleeding a little. I rushed back downstairs where Edward had relaxed his stance and Carlisle was examining the large gash on Bella's arm.

"Here, Carlisle," I said offering the towel.

"Too much glass in the wound." he reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap of material from the table cloth, he twisted it and wound it around Bella's arm as a tourniquet.

Bella's eyes glazed and her nose screwed up. She looked close to fainting.

"Bella, do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here?"

"Here, please." She whispered weakly.

"I'll get your bag," I said as I disappeared to Carlisle's study. I pulled the lamp from his desk and his bag from beside the door. I headed towards the kitchen and plugged the lamp into the wall and placed his bag on the table. I waited as they brought Bella into the kitchen. They sat her gently in a chair and Carlisle began working.

Edward hovered over the top of her, the look of helplessness he was wearing, made another deep wound of guilt. He wasn't breathing either.

"Just go, Edward." Bella sighed.

"I can handle it," the determination on his face wasn't winning the battle with his thirst, a thirst that would be greater than any of ours. A battle he wanted to win more than any other he had come up against.

"You don't need to be a hero," Bella continued. "Carlisle can fix me up without your help. Get some fresh air." Bella winced, and blinked more than necessary, I couldn't even imagine the discomfort she was feeling.

"I'll stay."

"Why are you so masochistic?" Bella mumbled in reply. She knew as well as we did that Edward's thirst was a big battle for him. He had explained that to her.

"Edward, you may as well go find Jasper before he gets too far." Carlisle stepped in. "I'm sure he's upset with himself, and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now."

"Yes. Go find Jasper." Bella agreed. Once again the girl shocked me, as soon as Jasper's name was mentioned, her concern was directed towards him. I felt a swell of affection for her.

"You might as well do something useful," I added hoping it would be the straw that broke the camels back and he would find my Jasper. I could only imagine what was running through his mind. He was always so gentle, I was almost afraid this would break him. He had a history, most of us did, but he wanted to change and he liked the lifestyle we led. Liking, unfortunately, never made it any easier.

Edward's eyes narrowed and he headed towards the back door, sprinting.

I stood leaning against the counter, talking hadn't been a good idea. I had breathed during those few words and I could feel my throat tighten again. I didn't want to move again until I knew I was under full control of my body. I had never really been all that bad at this lifestyle, because I had known from my first memory that there was an alternative to human blood. But I knew my limitations and I knew that Jasper was hurting.

Bella stared at Carlisle's face, she was avoiding the wound on her arm at all costs. I watched Carlisle as he pulled the glass shards from her arm and placed them in a bowl. I took the opportunity to sneak out, I had to find Jasper, I knew he would have calmed a little now, and he would be waiting for me. As I got to the door I turned to catch Bella watching me. I gave her a small apologetic smile and headed out to find my husband.

I caught up with Jasper and Edward down by the river. Jasper was sat on the ground, his head in his hands. Edward was crouched next to him talking quietly. I approached slowly. Edward heard my thoughts before my footsteps. '_How's he doing?'_ I asked, stopping a couple of feet away watching. Edward shook his head solemnly.

"Hey Jasper," I said approaching slowly. I nodded at Edward again to let him know it was okay to leave. He stood up and placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder in support.

"Jasper, you can't carry the guilt of this, it could have happened to any of us, it's in our nature." Edward sighed as he pulled his hand away and jogged at human pace back to the house.

I knelt in the grass in front of Jasper and ran my hands down his arms. "This is all my fault, Jasper." I wrapped my arms around him the best could and laid my cheek on the top of his head. I felt his arms move as the wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer. His head fell to my chest and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered knowing I couldn't make this right, I could feel the emotions flowing from him freely in his desperate state.

"Stop, Alice. It was all me."

I sat back on my feet unwrapping my arms from his neck. I looked into his eyes and shook my head. "I should have gone hunting with you Jasper."

Jasper leaned forward and cupped his hands on either side of my face, never breaking eye contact. I could see the pain etched around his eyes, and my metaphorical heart shattered for him.

"Don't take this on your shoulders, Alice. I could have gone out hunting."

I pulled myself into him and wrapped my arms around his waist. His strong arms wrapped around me and held me to him. I listened to his systematic breathing and closed my eyes. I was trying not to focus on anything but this moment, but Edward was trying to make a decision and the pictures were flying through my mind like a slide show on fast forward.

"How is she?" Jasper asked into my hair.

"Fine, she was a little shocked, but she seems to be taking it a lot better than any of us. I think she was more worried about you."

"Typical Bella, absolutely no regard for self preservation."

I laughed and lay my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes. We would get through this . . . we had to.


	4. Chapter 3 Aftermath

The Twilight Universe belongs as always to the Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer.

Reviewers thank you YOU ROCK! So this is where it starts veering away from SM's New Moon and into Alice's own recollection. Hope you enjoy. Let me know if something irks you or if you like it.

Songs for thought: Red Sam - Flyleaf, Blackout - Muse, Space Dementia - Muse :) As always you can find a link to my playlist on my profile.

Thank you again - L

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**Chapter Three - Aftermath.**

I stayed by the river with Jasper, I didn't want to move. We hadn't spoken since he'd asked about Bella. I knew he would be alright, he would be harder on himself now, he would make sure that his thirst was under control. He would be hunting more. I would see to that. I wouldn't make this mistake again. His silence was breaking my heart.

"Alice?" I heard Edward asking for me at the house.

"Go on, I'll be up in a minute." Jasper whispered into my hair.

I sat back and looked at him again, his eyes still wore the pained expression, but at some point, he had regained control of his emotions again.

"I'll come back." I said leaning forward and kissing him gently on the lips. I got up slowly and glanced at him again in concern. I hated seeing him so miserable. He was a powerful soldier, but something like this always effected him badly, especially when he had been trying so hard.

I headed towards the house slowly, Jasper may have gotten control of his emotions but mine were spinning wildly out of control. I had no idea how I was supposed to deal with this and I wasn't sure how to act around anybody. Bella had been relaxed about the whole situation, but I wasn't sure how much of that was due to shock. Edward had said some comforting words of encouragement to Jasper, but I wasn't sure how he really felt, I had a sneaking suspicion he was blaming himself. Not to mention his decisions were swirling around my head at an alarming rate.

I approached the house and looked up at Edward, who was stood by the front door, his emotionless face was staring out into the meadow. "How's Jasper doing?" he asked, his face still devoid of any emotion.

"He's ashamed of himself, I think it'll be a while before he gets over this. How's Bella?" I asked in return.

"Carlisle finish stitching her up. I don't know how she's feeling though."

I nodded solemnly, and hung my head. He was angry, scared and hurting. How could everything have gone so wrong? I hadn't seen Edward in a mood like this for a long time, I was beginning to get worried. It seemed it was worse than I had possibly imagined.

"Could you help Bella find something to wear?"

I nodded and headed up the stairs following him inside. I tried to get control of my emotions before I walked through the door. I could see Bella stood talking to Esme and Carlisle. They were chuckling. I couldn't imagine what had them so chipper in a situation like this, but I was hoping that it would be a good sign. That things would go back to normal.

Bella's appearance was shocking, the scarlet blood was drying into a dark burgundy on her shirt. She look disheveled and tired, so I rushed to her side quickly, still having no idea how to act.

"C'mon, I'll get you something less macabre to wear."

We headed up the stairs at Bella's speed and headed towards Esme's closet. Bella stood at the door with her arms wrapped around herself as I rummaged for something similar to what she was wearing. I found a shirt and handed it to her. We headed into the bathroom and Bella pulled off her shirt, we cleaned up her arm and she pulled the clean shirt over her head. She looked a lot better, almost as if nothing had happened. I was just concerned about the look of apprehension she wore, I wasn't sure exactly what it was pertaining to but it made me nervous.

"Alice," Bella whispered as I was headed towards the door.

"Yes?" I stopped and turned to look at her, I cocked my head slightly in curiosity. I wasn't sure what she wanted to talk about that she wouldn't want anyone else to hear.

"How bad is it?" she muttered under her breath. I froze, Edward's decisions were still jumping around and they were mostly bad, but there was still some hope there. I didn't know what to tell her. So I tried to be honest.

"I'm not sure yet." I said watching the sorrow fill Bella's eyes.

"How's Jasper?"

I sighed, "He's very unhappy with himself. It's all so much more of a challenge for him, and he hates feeling weak." Not to mention it was all my fault for not going hunting with him, because as always I was preoccupied doing my own thing. I added in my head.

"It's not his fault." Bella told me sympathetically."You'll tell him that I'm not mad at him, not at all, won't you?"

"Of course." I felt myself relax a little. Bella was perhaps the most forgiving person I had ever come across, I felt lucky to have her as a friend, I didn't know what I had done to deserve her but I was glad she was in my life. Now I had to focus on Edward, and Jasper, and bringing them back to our reality. Edward's future was beginning to disturb me more as his thoughts became clearer. I was hoping to talk to him before this all got out of control. Jasper would beat himself up about this but he would come around, and in the end he would fight his urges harder, I was sure of that.

I followed Bella downstairs, where Edward was waiting by the door. As she reached the bottom he held it open for her. I looked at the scene and realized that Bella's unopened gifts were still laying on the floor by the piano.

"Take your things!" I cried and swooped them up with her camera. I pressed them into her uninjured arm. "You can thank me later, when you've opened them." I added hopefully. For the first time since I had met Bella, I was having a hard time determining her future. I still saw her as a vampire, but Edward wasn't there as much as he always had been. The vision was confusing me. I watched as Edward guided Bella outside and closed the door. Esme and Carlisle embraced, and I knew the outcome couldn't be good. I dropped to the floor on me knees and dropped my head into my hands. I saw it all, we were packing up and heading out. He had made his decision, we were leaving. He was leaving Bella, alone, I saw it all, his heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. He would never recover, but he would try to stay away. I knew without a doubt that he believed this was the only thing he could do. He would destroy them both, I could definitely see that.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked crouching beside me and resting his hand on my shoulder.

'We're moving aren't we?" I asked hopelessly.

"He wants to talk with us about the options." Carlisle said confirming my suspicions. I couldn't think, my body shuddered involuntarily and I succumbed to the dry sobbing that controlled every inch of my body.

Esme was at my side in seconds, smoothing my hair, and cooing maternally.

"Doesn't anyone else get a say in this?" I asked, between sobs. "She's my friend, and do you have _any_ idea, what this will do to Jasper? The guilt will eat him alive."

"I'm sorry, Alice, this has to be Edward's decision." Carlisle whispered as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I nuzzled into Esme's motherly arms and let myself go. I had to get this out of my system before facing Jasper again. This would be hard enough on him without having to hold me together at the same time.

I heard the door open quietly, I didn't move. I was hoping against hope that it wasn't Jasper. I caught Rosalie's scent as she pushed the door closed behind her. She said nothing but sat in front of me and picked up my hand. With each passing moment, my vision became stronger, I couldn't keep my eyes closed any longer. I wanted to stop watching, he was truly committing to this resolution. I knew why he was doing it, and I knew how badly it would turn out. I also knew he would never listen to reason. But I had to try, I had to do something.

After my fit had ended I decided to go and find Jasper again, he still hadn't come in and I knew he was still brooding over what had happened. I got my emotions in control and headed down towards the river where I had left him.

Emmett was sat next to him on the grass looking helpless. I nodded to him and waited for him to stand. He hung his head low and headed towards the house touching me briefly on the shoulder as he passed. I headed closer toward Jasper.

"Hey you." I said crouching in front of him, he was sat cross legged in the grass with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He lifted his head and reached out towards me pulling me onto his lap and nuzzling his head in my shoulder.

"You can't stay out here all night babe, we're going to have to talk about it at some point." I said quietly, running my hand down the side of his face lovingly. I wanted him to look at me.

"I know, I just can't help but feeling like I've screwed everything up." he said playing with the hem of my shirt in his fingers.

"Jasper, whatever happens, it's not your fault. If it wasn't this I'm sure it would be something else." I said trying to block the morose tone playing with my voice.

Jasper looked up at me quickly trying to read my expression. I looked into his eyes and sighed. I knew I would have to tell him sooner rather than later. "Alice, what's going on?"

"Edward's calling a house meeting." I reached and cupped his face with my hand, looking deep into his amber eyes. "He's made a decision."

Jasper closed his eyes and rested his forehead on my shoulder. This was exactly the type of thing he had been trying to avoid. We all knew Edward's tendency to overreact to situations, we also knew that he had never had someone he loved with every inch of his being before, I couldn't fault him for it. It was the only way he knew to protect her. I closed my eyes again and laid my head against his. We sat in the dark listening to each other breathing. I wasn't sure how long we sat there, we were comforting each other the only way we knew how, silently. I could feel the anxiety seeping from him but I shared it quietly, it seemed fitting.

I knew we weren't the only ones hurting, Edward's decision was going to affect all of us. The silent support Rose had given me was a sign that she did care. She cared how much it would hurt us all, Emmett had grown attached to Bella as a sister, I had grown attached as a best friend and a sister. Not to mention that Esme and Carlisle had already accepted her into the family, and Jasper, no matter how hard he found it to be around her, had accepted her.

Then there was Edward, his self-sacrifice would be the hardest, he had been so happy. I knew this was going to change him in a way none of us could think of, I knew it would crush his spirit beyond recognition. He would be a hollow shell of the man he had been. I knew that his entire world revolved around Bella, it had since the day he met her. Being separated from her for something as trivial as a hunting trip had made him anxious, the repercussions of this had the potential to change our family forever.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Rosalie approached surreptitiously, her face was sympathetic, and full of sorrow.

"Hey guys, Carlisle asked that you come inside. He wants to talk to us before Edward gets here."

"Thanks Rose." I said and watched as she turned and walked away. "You ready?"

Jasper lifted his head and nodded. He wrapped one arm under my legs and the other around my back and stood up, at full height he dropped my legs gently to the ground. I stood wearily and picked up Jasper's hand and headed towards the house.

We entered the dining room slowly, Jasper's head was hung low, his chin resting on his chest. He was too ashamed to face the family. Esme rushed from her seat and wrapped her arms around his waist in support.

"Oh, Jasper, please don't blame yourself." She sighed and guided him to a chair.

I looked around the room at my family, Rosalie had her arm wrapped around Emmett, who had his arms crossed on the table with his head resting in them. Carlisle sat at the head of the table and had his fingers on his temples. Esme sat with Jasper and held his hand sadly. I sighed and headed to my seat on the opposite side of Jasper. I leaned my head on his shoulder and watched Carlisle as he tried to speak.

"I wanted to talk to you all before Edward comes home." he sighed and looked up at me sadly. "Edward has called a house meeting and I'm sure each of you understand the implications of that."

"This is absurd, Carlisle." Rosalie said shaking her head in disgust. "I understand the severity of what happened tonight, but don't you think he's blowing it all out of proportion?"

I nodded fervently, in agreement. It was perhaps the most sensible thing Rose had ever said regarding Bella and Edward.

"Perhaps," Carlisle agreed. "But we have to do this his way, it's the only way he'll be able to live with himself."

"Oh, so we all have to up and move ahead of schedule because he's an. . . an . . . overprotective fool?"

"Rose," Esme said in a pleading tone. "Please keep in mind how much he's going to be hurting about this."

"Why is he doing it then?" I asked sadly.

"Because this is exactly the thing he's been fearing. He blames himself for the constant danger Bella seems to find herself in. He thinks that she is in even more danger from him. He's doing this for her." Carlisle answered, looking sadder than he had been.

"This is all my damned fault." Jasper whispered shaking his head. I wrapped my arm around his and cuddled closer to him. I knew this would be hard on him, I could feel his body heave the unnecessary air in and out of his chest in distress and the wave of guilt and pain that enveloped us in a room that felt it was closing in around us.

"Don't you dare say that again Jasper Whitlock Hale, do you understand me?" I said almost in a whisper.

Jasper slammed his elbows onto the table and dropped his head in his hands. This was the worst I had ever seen my family, everyone was hurting about this, Edward had waited almost a hundred years to find Bella and he was throwing it all away. I had to talk some sense into him, I had to help him see reason.

The room basked in the painful silence as we waited for Edward. I knew that he would wait until he had said good morning to Bella before heading home, which was fine by me, I wanted to be with Jasper today, I would get my chance with Bella tomorrow.

The front door opened quietly and each of us sat up and listened, five heads turned to the door. Jasper's stayed on his chest.

"Dining room, Edward." Carlisle called.


	5. Chapter 4 Gone

_All things Twilight belong to the awesomely awesome Stephenie Meyer_

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**Chapter Four - Gone**

Edward strolled into the dining room and sat down opposite Carlisle. It wasn't hard to see what was coming next. We were all ready for it. Edward's eyes look sad and forlorn, his stance showed his defeat. He had definitely made his decision and there was no turning back.

"Thanks for all showing up," Edward said monotonously, "Jasper, how are you?"

Jasper looked up sadly and nodded at Edward, I'm sure words had escaped him at this point. Edward nodded in return and clasped his hand in front of him on the table.

"I'm sure Carlisle has mentioned my plan, I know that we had a couple more years here, but I think it's better we make a clean break. It'll be easier for all of us. I can't condone putting Bella into danger anymore. I need to do this for her, while she still has a chance at a normal life."

I snorted a little too loudly and the entire room looked at me. "What?" I asked looking around them all. "You don't buy that crap do you?"

"And what 'crap' is that, Alice?" Edward asked defensively.

"A chance at a normal life, Edward? Really? Are you really so naive as to think that she will ever get over you?" I asked astounded. I wasn't sure why his words bothered me so much but I had always guessed that he had taken Bella's love for granted and looked past the fact that Bella was in further than he could have possibly imagined.

"She's human, Alice. She has a long life ahead of her, she'll find love again and move on." Edward hung his head in misery as he said this. I raised my eyebrows.

"Edward, your really an idiot. You are her world, her reason for living. Your souls and destiny's are intertwined, you have to be the biggest moron to believe that she would ever get over that."

"She's not like us, Alice. I don't think she can love in the same capacity as we do."

"I don't know why I'm even trying, Edward. Your too stubborn to talk to, but mark my words, when you realize what a mistake this is and you want her back. She'll be there for you because the two of you have a hold on one another, and there's nothing you can do about it. Even if she finds someone to help her get through this, her heart will always belong to you. She's my friend, I know her pretty damn well. If you really do this, you could ruin her, just think about that, please, this is the last I will say on the matter and I will do anything you ask of me because you're my brother. But, please, look at the repercussions and consequences before you set your mind to it."

"Don't you think I have, Alice? I have sat with her in my arms all night, thinking. Thinking how this will all but kill me, how this will devastate her. How Jasper will blame himself, how you and Emmett will be angry at me. Carlisle, Esme and Rose will also suffer my mood swings. I love her, Alice, with every fiber of my being, and I will love her for my eternal life, but I will _not_ subject her to eternal damnation and I will_ not_ continue putting her in danger. I'm doing this _because _I love her, _because_ I want what's best for her. I will live with my pain as a testament to that love, she means too much to me to hurt her anymore. This is my chance to make things right for her, to give her a chance. She'll get over me and move on, it's human nature, and it's the only way I can get through this, please, please, Alice, everyone, try to understand where I'm coming from."

I rolled my eyes and nodded. He was my brother, I would give him my loyalty eternally. I didn't have to agree with him though, and not if but _when_ this stupid plan of his backfired I would help pick up the pieces.

"Alice, I have to ask you a huge favor." Edward said glumly.

"That is?" I asked, almost cringing at the anticipation of the answer.

"Actually, it's a request to all of you."

Every head around the table nodded in recognition of Edward's plea. "I want you to not contact her again, from now, no goodbyes. I think it would be better if it was a clean break. Bella is as attached to you as you are to her. This will be painful enough without long, drawn out goodbyes. Please, I am hoping that you will be gone in two days, three tops, I will follow a day after. I will end it then and follow you out."

"Edward, you're not letting us say goodbye?" I asked desperation lacing my voice.

"It's for the best, Alice." Edward said, a pleading in his eyes for me to understand.

I nodded agreeing to his wishes, I knew he was trying to do the best thing for Bella, and as much as I doubted him, I agreed to do it his way.

"I have to go to school, do you mind terribly Esme?" Edward turned his eyes to our mother.

"We'll take care of everything, Edward."

"Thank you." Edward's eyes were now on the ground, he was finding it difficult to look us in the eyes. I had to put myself in his shoes, I had to show some sympathy to him, he was my brother, he was making the biggest mistake of his very long life, and he was in pain. I stood up from the table and walked towards him. I opened my arms and he stepped into them, returning the embrace. "Don't hurt her too badly, please Edward." I begged, I was hoping that he would show some compassion in his attempt to distance himself. He nodded into my hair and stepped away from me.

I took my seat next to Jasper again and rubbed his arm gently. "Things will work out, Jasper. Please lets get things taken care of and start again."

Jasper nodded and lifted his head, we all looked to where Edward had been stood, he'd backed out of the room quietly.

I sighed deeply and felt Jasper's arms wrap around me. I closed my eyes and climbed onto his lap.

"Okay," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "We need a plan and quick, I've had an offer to teach at Cornell, is anyone against the idea of Ithaca?"

"New York?" Esme asked.

Carlisle nodded and waited for some feedback from us. I shrugged my shoulders, there would be shopping to do once they found a house and most of it would need to be overnighted. Of course they would have to find a house first so I would know what style to look for. I nodded and looked at Jasper. "You could study philosophy, like you wanted to." I whispered. Trying to make some good out of the bad.

Jasper nodded. Esme, Emmett and Rosalie agreed.

Ithaca it was.

"I'll go see if I can find us a house." Esme said standing and heading out of the room. I nodded and followed her out. I knew she would let me get some things arranged. Two to Three days would mean a huge rush on the house buying, we normally had three months to find a house and close the sale, but this was going to take all of our joined resources. It would be so hectic, it had the potential to take our minds off of what was going on, and we needed that right now.

The search for the house was easy and as Emse and Carlisle tried to close on it, I picked out the decor. It was the busiest couple of days we'd had in a while and didn't really let us dwell on what we were about to do, the pain we were about to feel. Edward didn't go over to Bella's much anymore and he had started distancing himself from her. It was hard to watch. He would come home and sit in his room, no music, no lights, and no sound. It sometimes felt like he was mourning a death, but metaphorically it was a death, a death to the last scrap of humanity that held his heart together. I tried to stay away because I feared I would make it worse, and I knew that was the last thing he needed. He knew where I was if he needed to talk. I knew Edward well enough to know that if wanted to be alone, nothing would make him open up. I just hoped that I would see him smile again one day.

We left two days after the fateful 'incident' We covered everything in the house with dust sheets and left Edward's bedroom for him to clean. We generally left the houses we moved from with the furnishings. This gave us the opportunity to come back after a century, not to mention we usually shopped for decor according to the house we were in.

The particular house we had picked out was a seventeenth century manor house, which was now a historical monument, north of the city. Esme would restore it and I would help with the furnishing. The house was beautiful, it had six bedrooms, a grand entrance that lead to a dramatic library with built-in bookcases. The outside was stone with ornamental eves. There wasn't a huge amount of land but there was plenty forest surrounding it which made the hunt easier when necessary. Although I knew we would travel more often than not, to hunt.

It took us twenty-four hours to drive to Ithaca, it wasn't a pleasant drive either. No one was really talking to anyone else, we had nothing to say except to our significant others. Carlisle and Esme, were in the Mercedes. Jasper and I were in the BMW and Rosalie and Emmett were in the Jeep. I had persuaded Jasper to drive me past Bella's house so I could say goodbye to her, even if she never saw or spoke to me. I knew this was the only way that I could get on with my life. It had, however, been harder than I could have possibly imagined. Jasper practically had to pin me down in the car to stop me from going to her. We had ridden in the car for twenty-two hours in silence, both of us feeling the strain. I was the first to break the silence.

"Sorry, I know how hard this has been on you." I whispered quietly. Twenty-two hours had given me plenty of time to realize my selfishness.

"Alice, she was the first human friend you've ever had, that you can remember. It was always going to be hard. It's affecting everyone." he sighed as he watched the road.

I ran my hand down his arm. "You have to be the most understanding husband to have ever existed, Jasper. With that said, I believe I'm the worst wife."

"Why do you say that?" he asked as he cupped my cheek with his right hand.

"I've been so selfish. I know how hard this has been on you."

"Alice, I'm always alright as long as I'm with you." he smiled. "I may have a hard time getting past things like this, but I always do because you're there. Nothing would be worth it without you."

I smiled at him warmly and leaned forward to him, kissing him gently on the lips. The BMW never swerved once. I smiled to myself.

"What?" he asked as I sat back into my chair on the other side of the car.

I smiled again. "I was just thinking how lucky I am, to have you. I love you Jasper Hale."

"I love you, Alice Cullen."

Jasper shook his head, smiled and picked up my hand. The rest of the journey was made in silence, but it was comfortable. We'd said what we needed to say.

We pulled into the house around dusk. The fading light was dancing beautifully on the warm hues of the stones. This was our new home. It wasn't the white house by the river, that I seemed to long for, but it was home.

My thoughts returned to Forks once again, and the beautifully clumsy Bella, my best friend. I had always had the vision of her becoming one of us, and the thought of a move like this hadn't affected me in the least, because I'd always thought she would be there. I blocked any vision I had of her now at Edward's request. He wanted us to leave her alone, and as I had promised everyone in the family, I would honor any of their wishes, no matter how hard it was to do.

I took a large unnecessary breath and stepped into the chaos that was unpacking. Fortunately, being surrounded by trees let us work at our speed. It didn't take us long to unpack, that I was grateful for.

Rosalie and Emmett appeared out of their bedroom and headed towards where the rest of us were still arranging the things we had brought with us. Some of the furniture that we had ordered would be arriving shortly and we still had plenty of shopping to do. Esme had insisted on restoring some of the rooms before we furnished them. Carlisle was arranging his books in the large library and Jasper had been setting up his office in the spare room next to our bedroom.

"Can we talk to everyone please?" Rose asked as she approached Esme and I.

Carlisle and Jasper appeared and we all took a seat in the living room. Family meetings were no longer something to smile about considering the last couple that we'd had.

"This is just a quick announcement." Emmett added seeing the hesitation in most of our faces. He grinned sheepishly and I groaned. I saw what I hadn't been looking for. Carlisle, Esme and Jasper all looked at me and I smiled awkwardly, shrugging my shoulders.

"Thanks, Alice." Rose snapped, but smiled sweetly at the rest of the family.

"Sorry," I mumbled in return. I knew I should be happier but that wasn't the most dominant of feelings these days.

"Anyway," Rose continued. "Emmett and I have decided we don't want to go through high school or college again, so we've decided we're going to get married, again. Nothing big, we don't want to rub it in Edward's face. We just want a quick ceremony and then we'll disappear on our honeymoon. We're going to Europe."

The room fell silent and no one knew what to say. It wasn't because Rosalie and Emmett were marrying, again. It was because it was their excuse to avoid the problem. Rosalie hated seeing anyone suffering, it made her nervous and Emmett's normally jovial mood wood turn to something darker in Edward's presence, because they were so close. I could understand Rosalie's decision. She wasn't doing this for herself, this time. She was trying to save Emmett the agony, she was looking after her husband, I could appreciate that.

"I think it'll be good for you." I said shocking the rest of my family members, they had taken my groan as a negative connotation on the idea. I half smiled and looked at Jasper.

"I agree with Alice, a couple of weeks or month will really be relaxing to you." I knew he could feel what I had speculated by pure intuition.

"Of course you should, we'll miss you of course." Esme said instinctually, I knew her main objective was to get us to come together again as a family. She had been so worried about us all since the party. She was letting us all make our own decisions, but she constantly worried, especially about Edward.

Carlisle did nothing but smile and nod, this was unusual for him. He always had a kind word to say to any of us making our decisions based on the years we would spend in any certain locale. This was different, he hadn't had time to come up with a plan for us so we were scattering, and he was worried.

"Thanks, we'll get things arranged as soon as possible, we're hoping to leave maybe tonight. . . we don't want Edward. . . We don't want to upset anybody." Rose quickly corrected herself. Like most of the family she had started to group Edward in with the family collective, rather than as an individual. This was becoming a bad habit but it was easier than considering him alone again, it also helped us deter from the accusatory tone that also accompanied referring to him singularly. It was never intentional, but referring to him as an individual made it sound as though we all moved _because_ of him not for him, and none of us liked the way that sounded.

"Edward, will be arriving tomorrow morning. He called, he's finished what he stayed to do, so he left. While I have you all here I should mention that I think all of us should try and act as normally around him as we can. He doesn't need any extra tension about this. Agreed?" Carlisle asked standing up.

Each of us nodded and stood from our seats. I couldn't believe it had only taken him four days to end such a soulful relationship. It was beyond me, but I was his sister, I would give him all the support he needed.

It was time to start over.

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**A/N: Okay so I promise it will start getting happier now. . .**


	6. Chapter 5 Starting Over

_All things in the WW of Twilight belong to Awesomely Awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Here's that second Chapter I promised you today :)_

_Okay think happy thoughts. . . Edward is still really depressed, I'm trying to cheerify it, promise._

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**Chapter Five - Starting Over**

Rosalie and Emmett left that evening. It hadn't taken them long. Knowing that Edward would soon be home had motivated them somewhat to execute their plan a little more quickly than they normally would. We said our goodbyes and they headed in to the dark evening off on their umpteenth honeymoon. I didn't envy them. They were running away from their problems that would only make it harder for them when they did come home.

I spent the night lying in bed in Jasper's arms. We held each other closely, we needed the closeness. The last couple of days had been strenuous and we needed each other to level out. We knew that it would be okay in the end. We had just never expected this, I hadn't seen it coming. Jasper stroked my hair comfortingly throughout the night, being away from Forks seemed to help him. That was something I was glad about. I knew this would be good for him, he was already starting to act like himself. I was hoping this would be good for Edward, I was hoping he would draw his strength from us.

We heard the Volvo pull into the drive and hopped from the bed. I knew Edward would be more depressed than I could possibly imagine. We would have to act as normally as possible. Even though I knew the attempt would be wasted, I'd agreed, so I complied.

Edward entered the house with his bags held under his arms, his eyes were darker than I could ever remember them being. I rushed forward and threw my arms around his wiast.

"Welcome home, Edward." I said with as much bravado as I could muster.

"Thanks, Alice. Where's my room?"

"All the way to the right at the top of the stairs, I could show you if you like?" I said.

"No, thanks, I'll find it."

I stepped away from him and let him go, he headed up the stairs and disappeared. I looked at Jasper and shrugged. We'd known this would be difficult. Esme and Carlisle appeared from the kitchen.

"No better." Carlisle asked looking up the stairs after his oldest son.

"Nope." I answered raising my eyebrows.

"Worse." said Jasper from behind me. "I could feel it as soon as he walked in, I've never felt any emotion like it."

Esme rose her delicate eyebrows and picked up Carlisle's hand in hers, her other hand went to her neck. "We should never have allowed this."

"Allowed what?" Carlisle asked quietly, hoping Edward wouldn't hear our almost silent conversation.

"To leave, Carlisle, I will never regret the time he spent with her, I've never seen him so happy. We should have spoken about it, instead of just agreeing to his terms."

"You know how stubborn he is Esme, he would never have listened to reason." Carlisle said stroking her face lovingly.

"We could have tried, Carlisle."

Carlisle nodded and looked up the stairs. "I'll go and talk to him."

This seemed to appease Esme's maternal nature and she let her husband climb the grand staircase. She turned to me with a forced smile on her lips.

"So, Alice, What are your plans this time around? I know that Jasper's decided to go to Cornell. What about you?"

"I was. . . I was actually thinking of doing some research into who I was when I was a human. Maybe I can find more about who I was from the things we learnt last Spring, from James." I felt my lips pull up over my teeth as I said the name. It was vile to me, I couldn't stomach it.

Esme nodded happily. I think she wanted me to find out who I was because it had always been such a mystery. It would also keep me occupied.

"I think it'll be good for you, Alice." She said leaning forward to kiss my forehead. She fluttered away back into one of the rooms she had been working on.

"Alice, I thought we talked about that." Jasper stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me.

"We did, but I think it's not a case of wanting to know anymore, Jasper. I think it's more needing to know now."

Jasper nodded. "I understand that honey, I just thought you would wait until I could go with you. The south isn't safe for us, there are wars raging in each and every state, the vampires fight first, they don't listen to reason. And the worst of all, your beautiful face will only be able to be seen at night. Do you have any idea what a crime _that _is?" he smiled and ran his fingers down my jaw line.

I laughed at his flattery, he was always so romantic. He was worried about my history though. The only thing I could remember is where I woke up and I was sure that the asylum had to be near there, in fact, I was sure of it. Jasper had found it on the internet it was in Mississippi, and at this time of the year it was hot, and very sunny. And the scent of the humans was everywhere. I appreciated his concern, Jasper was a southern gentleman in every way.

"And I told you Jasper, I'm not looking for trouble, just answers. I know that you mean well, but I'll be fine."

"Then I'm coming with you." he said stubbornly. He was so afraid of me running into one of the southern vampires, I knew he was justified in his concern but I couldn't not look for who I was.

"You've already enrolled, Jasper. You need to let me do this."

"You don't want me to come?"

I laughed and threw my arms around his neck and pulled him to me kissing him will all my might. He was playing the guilt card so I way playing the coy card. I moved my mouth to his ear. "You are so awry, my sweet loving husband, nothing would please me more than you being there with me, but you have enrolled in college, in a field you have always wanted to study in. I think it's unfair that you have to miss out on that."

I felt his cheeks swell with the smile on his face, "I love you, Alice."

"I love you, Jasper."

"Good because you're stuck with me, I'll postpone my first semester. Do you honestly think I could be away from you that long?"

I rolled my eyes and kissed him again, His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into the air with him as he stretched to full height.

"Fine." I said as I pulled away from the kiss, fighting for a breath I didn't need.

"Good." he grinned and lowered me to the floor. "I'll go take care of that now. Then I'll do some more research."

I could feel the smile growing on my lips. I nodded. Jasper was magic on the internet, the most I could ever do was shop on it. It was all I needed it for. Jasper, mostly read _everybody's_ opinion about the civil war, and it wasn't always a pretty outcome. I have had many a night listening to him incessantly complain about a certain historical fact that he'd read about that was not true, at all, he knew this for a fact, seeing that he had been there. For a while I tried to convince him to write a factual, and detailed account of what really happened during the war under a pen name. But he said he didn't have any physically evidence to back up his accounts. Then he would continue to vent. I had become very talented at blocking him out, but I would always tune back in when his face lit up, it meant a change of subject.

Jasper was an expert on the South and I knew that his expertise would be beneficial. I watched him head towards his office and decided to help Esme with the house, it would be a couple of weeks before anything could be done, so I would have to bide my time until then. I was hoping I could help Edward, in some small way. I wasn't sure how, but I would try nonetheless, I would be then whenever he was ready.

The days passed similar to that of the last days in Forks, Edward stayed away from us in his room, silent. He had left his extensive CD collection in Forks, he requested that no piano be in the new house and he stayed silent in his dark room, no contact with any of us who shared the house with him. I would occasionally send thoughts his way but I wasn't past believing that he was also blocking those. Esme was growing more concerned with the situation, she recognized the symptoms from her last days as a human. He was deeply depressed, and there was no bright outlook for him, because we knew that he had promised himself to never darken Bella's doorstep again.

We received our first postcard from Rosalie and Emmett, they were in Scotland, they had found a remote castle in the highlands and were enjoying being alone. I didn't want to look into the double meaning of _that_.

Jasper and I were making preparations to head to the south for a while, Jasper had thought he'd found the asylum I had been admitted to and he was making sure that there were no southern covens close enough to effect us there. He'd been checking the news in the city. He was still nervous but we were closer to leaving now than we had been. He was calculating evacuation route and battle plans in case they were necessary. I sometimes thought he was a little too prepared but I kept my mouth shut, he was happier than he had been and it was all due to these 'preparations'.

After five days in the new house, things were getting closer to normal than they had been, I was helping Esme with the restoration of the large study that was hidden in the library, it was behind one of the built-in bookcases. It had made me laugh when we had first discovered it because it reminded me of a mystery novel I had once read. The study was large and would be perfect for Carlisle, Esme wouldn't let him move in there until we had restored the original detail and decorated it, so he was forced to work from a guest bedroom for the time being.

I was searching for a desk that would match the same time period as the house, that was when Edward called me softly from his room. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if I had been hearing things, but he called again softly. Esme stuck her head out of the office to look at me with her eyebrows raised in question and, an undeniable hope etching every inch of her soft face. I shrugged my shoulders and headed towards the stairs.

Edward was stood at his bedroom door, and when he saw me approaching he left it open and disappeared inside. I followed him in and closed the door behind me.

"Edward?" I sat next to him on the couch and pulled my legs up under me and faced him.

He took a deep breath and an his hand through his hair. Whatever he was going to ask me was difficult, I was beginning to wonder if he would ask me about. . . I didn't even think the name and I stopped the thought before it could get into my head where he would see it.

"Alice, I need your help."

I nodded afraid any word I said would make him change his mind.

"I need you to look for someone for me, I need to know where to find them."

"Okay, anything, Edward. Who do you need me to look for?"

"Victoria."

I tried to stop the gasp in my throat before it escaped but it was released through my teeth and came out as a hiss. Edward's expression oozed sympathy and understanding. I knew that name held the same resentment as it did for me, and I knew why he'd asked. He wanted to eliminate any threat he could in Bella's life, if he couldn't be with her, he would take care of her any way he could.

"Edward. . ." I started but he raised his hand to stop me.

"I know, Alice. You have to let me do this."

I nodded and closed my eyes, I searched in my mind until I found something I could recognize, she was in San Diego hiding but her next move was to head further south. She had been looking for James, and finally found out from a news report, she'd also been talking to Laurent. She had been watching Bella carefully out of our ranges something had kept her flitting around and she was scared. Her next move was to head south, I had no idea why, she hadn't made that decision yet.

"She's in Southern California, she's heading south, she doesn't know why, she just keeps heading in that direction. She knows about James, from news reports and I think she spoke with Laurent. She's been watching B. . . Forks for the last couple of months, just out of our range." Edward frowned and I sighed. "Quileute's. She was running their land, but she left, something scared her. She would only come occasionally, and never spend long on the reservation. She's headed South, into Mexico and probably further."

I looked up and saw the dramatic change in Edward's demeanor, there was no longer a look of pain and agony plastered on his features, his face was now contorted with rage and anger.

"Edward?"

"I'm going to kill her, Alice. If it's the last thing I do, I'll kill her. She's watching Bella."

"Edward, you need to calm down, how are you going to find her, Mexico is huge."

"I saw into the mind of James pretty well, I know how he did it. I may not have the drive he did or the enjoyment of it, but I have the motive. She will never get close to Bella again."

I pressed my lips together and nodded, I knew he had to do this and I knew that nothing would get in his way, this was another testament of his love for Bella, and I couldn't deny him that. She would always be part of him, she owned his heart.

"Thanks, Alice." The flitter in his eyes made me realize he had listened to the justification in my head and I nodded.

"You need tickets?" I asked, I knew he had to talk to Carlisle and helping him fulfill his task would bring him home to us sooner.

He nodded, "I'll go talk to Carlisle and Esme."

I got up and headed towards Jasper's study, if this would bring some of the Edward we all knew and loved home to us, we had to let him go, it was dangerous, Victoria was like a feral feline, she like Edward had a vendetta to settle, but I knew Edward could look after himself. I would also keep a watchful eye on him. I would try and watch for every decision he made. I would do everything in my power to help him but this made me nervous, and that was exactly what Jasper picked up on when I entered his study.

"What's going on, Alice?" he looked at me nervously.

"Edward, he's leaving. . ."

Jasper jumped from his seat and pulled me to him before I could finish. "Where, Alice, your emotions are soaring, what's going on?"

"He's going after Victoria, and I just gave him the trail." I sighed and tried to pull myself back together."He'll be fine I think and I know that he has to do this. I just can't stop myself from feeling hesitant about this. It makes me nervous."

Jasper locked his arms around me tighter and pulled me towards him. "How about if I went with him?"

My head snapped up to look at him, I wasn't sure what emotion he was hit with first because I had a dozen effecting me at that moment. They were swirling around me like a barrage of gunfire. I began wondering if this was what it was like to faint.

"It'll be safer with two, Alice. It'll put your mind to rest, keep him safe, and get the job done. Then I can come back with him and we can head out to find your history."

_Neat little package._ I thought to myself and although it was tempting I was sure Edward would never agree to it, Not to mention that my fear would be doubled if Jasper went along, he was a terrific soldier, but that would never stop my fear for him. He was trying to ease my fears and once again the guilt was stifling me. When had I become so selfish?

"You're conflicted." laughed Jasper, I knew he was getting the full confusion of my emotions.

I nodded into his chest and closed my eyes.

"I know your worried, Alice, but we have to try." Jasper whispered quietly. I closed my eyes and wished for the first time in my vampire life that I could sleep. I needed the escape.


	7. Chapter 6 Roadtrip

_Twilight Universe belongs to Stephenie Meyer (only 75 days left till breaking dawn)_

_Thanks to those of you who Reviewed, I hope that this is getting better? _

_Playlist link on my Profile: Songs for thought: Skydive - Freefall, You're All I have - Snow Patrol._

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**Chapter Six - Road Trip**

Edward of course told Jasper no, he had appreciated our concerns and soothed our panic. He had to do this, he had to make it safe for Bella. He also explained that he had to keep himself occupied which was, to all of us, understandable. He left he next morning knowing that he would be able to scour the western coast of Mexico for Victoria, before she disappeared entirely.

We stuck around for another week. We knew how hard this had to be for Esme, and the empty nest syndrome would more than likely be ten fold if we had left the same time as Edward. It would be the first time that all of the Cullen 'children' were absent from the family home at the same time, and with Carlisle teaching at Ithaca during the evenings, Esme would suffer.

When we could no longer detain our inevitable trip, we loaded up into the Mercedes. Carlisle had almost insisted that we take his car because of the darker tint. We were going to be in the southern states, which meant sunshine, and plenty of it.

Esme had taken it better than we had thought she would, but I knew she was being brave, I knew when she had made the decision to be strong for us. I had to give it to her, she was doing phenomenally well, even though Jasper could feel her anxiousness seeping through. I tried not to mention this to her because she was trying so hard.

"Call me, okay." she begged as she hugged me and kissed my forehead. "If you see Edward doing something stupid, call me immediately."

I smiled and nodded, Esme had been this protective since the day I met her. I was sure that her love and concern went over and above any my human family had given me. This came from the knowledge that they had placed me in an asylum, when I was nineteen and quite simply sentenced me to die. Although I was sure the latter was something they hadn't factored into the equation.

I was interested to find our more about my history. "I promise, mom." I always called her mom when she was panicking like this it seemed to ease her worry a little.

"Oh, Jasper," Esme threw her arms around Jasper's waist and pulled him to her for the umpteenth time since we had explained where we were going. Jasper had never been very open with the Cullen in all the time we had lived with them. He had always been there because it's where I felt happy. But since leaving Forks he really seemed to be fitting in with the family more. This lifted my spirits in more ways than I knew were possible. We had, in this time of despair, become more of a family, and it felt nice, we just needed the others to come home so we complete the family again. I had checked a lot in the last week to be sure of decisions being made by the family members. Rosalie and Emmett were in Transylvania, where they were having fun researching the legends of Dracula that the humans there seemed to hold onto for tourism. Some of the things I saw were actually quite humorous and the both seemed to be in a very happy frame of mind.

Edward, was still tracking Victoria. He had seen her and was loosely following her when he could. She was more confident in her movements through the sub tropical paradise. He had never spend a great deal of time in those kind of climates, so his movements were more constrained. He was doing alright, which was all I needed to see and his decisions were being made in regards to the movements of Victoria.

We loaded ourselves into the car and waved to Carlisle and Esme. I knew we weren't going to be gone all that long but it felt like a loaded goodbye. I felt unusually, emotional at saying goodbye to my parents. I was wondering if this was how it was for children who were leaving for college.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I slid in my seat and took a deep breath. "That went a little better than I thought it would." I said turning to Jasper, who was smiling at me exasperation. "How was she really holding up?"

"She was nervous, and anxious. She had some dread thrown in there as well. It felt like she was saying goodbye in the truest sense of the word, like we were leaving for good. Almost like she expected us to never come home."

"That makes me feel terrible." I sighed turning to look out the back window. "I hope she knows we will come home, and it's just an empty nest thing."

"I'm sure that's all it is. We just need to make sure we call her every night, I'm sure she'll appreciate it seeing as no one else has extended the same courtesy."

I nodded in agreement. We hadn't heard from Edward since he'd left, if it hadn't been for my regular check ins we wouldn't know what he was doing or whether he was safe or not. Rosalie and Emmett sent postcards but never made an attempt to call. I wasn't too inclined to check up on them as much as the others because their decision nearly always included their intimacy to one another whilst on their honeymoon. It wasn't something I really wanted a visual on so I avoided that unless it was completely necessary. As far as what we were doing, I could see nothing but information, it was difficult to describe though because when it became a little clearer to read in my visions it would disappear suddenly because I had made a decision to not do that because I had seen the answer, it was becoming terribly frustrating. I had decided I wouldn't try and decipher what I saw in my visions anymore and wait until I followed that path.

The drive was scenic, we were driving from New York to Biloxi, Mississippi, a journey that would take any other human twenty-one hours, but would take us ten.

"So is there anything you want to see on the way?" Jasper asked and he inched the gas pedal further to the ground.

"I wouldn't mind seeing where Emmett's from, I hear the wildlife's pretty nice there too."

"That'll add a couple of hours to the journey, you okay with that?"

"Sure."

"Done beautiful." He smiled and adjusted the G.P.S. that Carlisle had installed in the Mercedes.

I sat back to enjoy the ride, I knew that I wanted to hunt as much as possible before we got to Biloxi, I would be spending a lot of time around humans, as would Jasper, and I wanted to be prepared. I hope he hadn't seen through my plan, and taken it as an insult, but I knew that he would tell me if he had. We had an honest relationship and we were open with our feelings. He would know how I felt but the sensitivity of his gift.

The sun moved across the sky with ease as our Journey moved ahead, Jasper and I never felt the need to talk too much, we were so at ease with each other there was really no need. Words tended to complicate things, especially when you made small talk. There was never any need for unnecessary words between us.

As we turned off Interstate 40 onto the Winnfield Dunn Highway heading toward Sevierville and Gatlinburg, I could almost see the beautiful forest that Emmett so lovingly described to us when he was retelling stories of his youth. I was sure most of the area had become so much more developed than when he was here, but I could see the hills on the horizon and the expansive green that covered it. It was breathtaking.

It wasn't until we reached Gatlinburg though that I truly lost my vocabulary. Emmett's Great Smokey National Park lay ahead of us. The mountainous peaks covered in deep mossy green could be seen from everywhere from Conner Heights and continuing to the heart of Gatlinburg. I was glad for once I had though ahead. I pulled out the digital Camera that I had bought before we left and started taking pictures of the beauty. I had the foresight to bring a laptop so I knew that I could send them to Esme, Carlisle and Emmett. I knew Emmett would be upset at missing the trip but I was sure that he and Rosalie would make the trip down here after they had returned from their honeymoon, simply because they hated to be outdone. Not only that but it had taken us less than six hours to get here, so it would also make a fantastic hunting sight. There were trees as far as the eyes could see with not much more in between. As we rolled into Gatlinburg we could understand Emmett's attachment to it. It was gorgeous, it almost looked like a painting rather than a real town. The mountains that lay behind the town were covered in a dark rich green and we couldn't resist taking Cherokee Orchard Road up to the trail heads. It would be a perfect time to feed, the sun was dipping into the horizon and a red tint held in the sky. It was perfect.

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A/N: Sorry Short Chapter :)

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	8. Chapter 7 New Orleans

_All thing Twilight are Stephenie Meyers (She's still awesomely awesome :0)_

_I have to apologize, Alice and Jasper get a little bit excited about being alone together. . . Blush_

_No Lemon as of yet but I'm starting to wonder with those two :P._

_Let me know what you think, if you don't like where it's going or something irks you, I'll never know unless you tell :). Unlike Edward, I can't read minds. :0P_

_Thanks to __my fantastically fantastic Reviewers (Y'all are the best and you know it. YOU ROCK!)_

_Songs for thought: There's a lot this time. As always there is a link to my playlist (Audio Player) on my profile :)_

_Psychotic Girl - The Black Keys, Heartbeat - Blackbud, Lies - The Black Keys, (**Jasper and Alice's Dance** You're the one - The black Keys), When the lights go out - The Black Keys_

_I know a lot of Black Keys but it'll make sense by the end of the Chapter :0)_

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**Chapter Seven - New Orleans**

As we pulled out of Gatlinburg, I smiled to myself. I was hoping that the bear I had fed from, would hold me over for a couple of days. Emmett had been right, they were all over the place here, and weren't difficult to come across.

We headed out into the night, we had to travel back to Interstate 40 the way we came, which really didn't seem like that big of a problem. It was so beautiful. This was one of the major benefits of our eyesight, we could still see the beauty of land even though it was pitch black to the human eyes. Not to mention the stars, they were like they had been in Forks, endless. I held Jasper's hand in my excitement, his eyes were liquid gold from his over indulgence, but he looked gorgeous.

I snuggled my head into his shoulder and watched as we coasted through the towns and cities. I kept an eye out for speed traps and the police on patrol, it was uneventfully empty. The radio stations played some interesting songs, not my usual taste, but they seemed to fit. The closer we got to Biloxi the more New Orleans stations we picked up. I started to get excited. Biloxi would have nothing for us at this time of night so I came up with a great plan. Jasper looked down at me as soon as my excitement hit him.

"What's up with you?" he smiled merrily.

"I have an idea." I grinned, I could feel my body trembling with excitement, I was hoping he would agree.

"Go on."

"Well, I was thinking, there's really nothing in Biloxi, that would capture our interest at night is there?"

"Casino's."

"True, but we go to Vegas for that."

"Okay, what are you thinking?"

"New Orleans, I've always wanted to go there."

Jasper went quiet, his lips pressed into a thin line and I sat back. I wasn't sure what it was that bothered him but the emotions dripping from him felt like anger, and fear.

"What, Jasper?"

"Alice, do you have any idea how many vampires are in New Orleans?"

"Really?"

"Really!" his answer was firm, he wasn't playing.

"Why's that?"

"It's a tourist town honey, it may as well be a buffet."

I sat back and thought about that. I had always wondered about tourist towns. We tried to avoid them at all costs, there was always too much attention drawn to us, and we preferred to stay under the radar. I had always wanted to see New Orleans though. The music fascinated me and in every movie I had seen set there made it look completely fun.

"Please, I promise, I'll keep out of trouble."

"Alice,"

"Jazz," I put on my best pout, I wasn't scared of vampires, I was sure they would leave us alone.

"No."

I sat back in my seat and thought for a second, I knew how to get my own way, but it would be risky trying it whilst we were in the car. I licked my lips and went for it. I swung my leg over Jasper and pulled myself into his lap, a leg either side of him. I kissed his neck tenderly and moved up to his jaw. I ran my lips down his jawbone to his chin and then planted the most passionate kiss I could on his lips. I felt his chest rise and fall with the exaggerated breaths and I smiled to myself.

"Please," I asked, my lips only inches from his.

He laughed and threw his head back onto the leather headrest. He took a quick peek over my shoulder and then looked into my eyes, and shook his head. He leaned in for another kiss but I backed away from him, I let my passionate emotion run wild as I fantasized about him. I knew what this would do to him and I wasn't playing fair. His eyes blazed with passion as he leant towards me again, I backed up again, I was up against the windshield and the steering wheel now, giggling hysterically.

"You're not playing fair, Alice."

I nodded and raised my eyebrows. "That's why you love me."

Jasper rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, but you stay close to me at all times, we leave when you're finished with your fun. Understand?"

I nodded and fell into him crushing my lips on his. His hand went up to my hair and pulled me closer to him. I smiled on his lips and melted at his touch. I sat back and looked deep into his eyes, they were full of desire. I laughed and ran my hand down the side of his face.

"You, my sweet, have to get back in your corner, before I roll this car, you have me too distracted."

I laughed and rolled back into my seat. I pulled my legs up to my chest and laid my chin on them. I watched him drive as he caught his breath. The sparkle in his eye kept the smile on my lips. I had to give it to Rosalie, sex _was _the greatest weapon.

We traveled down numerous highways and found our way to the outskirts of New Orleans, I could feel the smile on my lips as we neared our destination. Jasper had typed in Bourbon Street on the G.P.S. and it was telling us to turn left to get to our final destination. I couldn't contain my excitement. I was practically bouncing in my seat. Jasper's face had fallen into a serious scowl. His eyes flickered around us as he scanned the scene that played before our eyes. I knew what he was looking for. We parked on a quiet street away from the bedlam that was Bourbon Street. I hopped out and ran to the trunk of the car.

"Alice, what are you doing?"

"Jazz, c'mon, I need something to wear."

Jasper rolled his eyes and used the alarm clicker to open the trunk. I pulled a bag towards me and began rifling through it. I found the perfect dress and held it up for Jasper to see.

"Are you insane?"

"What?" I could feel my eyes narrowing without my consent, but it seemed to work, Jasper stepped back and held up his hands.

"Just hurry, baby." He leaned forward and planted a kiss on my lips before leaning against the car and looking out for people. I pulled my shirt off quickly and hoisted the turquoise dress over my head and down over my hips. The dress hugged tightly at the top with the empire bodice and then the silk fell beautifully around the rest of my body. The turquoise and brown did wonders with my pale skin. I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down, throwing them into the trunk of the car. I rifled through until I found the perfect shoes. My Manolo's the turquoise interiors matched the dress perfectly and the plain black shoe with the exaggerated ankle strap was gorgeous. They were perfect. I pulled them on and slammed the trunk shut. I danced around to the side of the car and fluffed my hair in the windows reflection. I smiled at my reflection.

"Well?" I asked Jasper, spinning slightly.

Jasper smiled and shook his head. "Perfect as always."

I laughed and took his arm and we strolled towards the infamous Bourbon street.

The amount of people that surrounded us was overwhelming and I immediately regretted my decision, I should have known better than to drag Jasper somewhere where humans were practically on top of one another. I looked up at him apologetically, but he grinned at me happily.

"I'm sorry, Jasper." I was on the tips of my toes as close to his ear as I could get, the noise was amazing.

Jasper leaned forward and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer. His mouth was at my ear. "Remember you fed me a big dinner, Alice. I'm fine."

I laughed and picked up his hand, there was some bluesy music coming from a bar close by and I wanted to dance.

We entered the bar as the song was changing, a slower number came on and I pulled Jasper onto the dance floor and stretched to put my arms around his neck. He laughed and I moved my hands down to wrap around his waist, he snaked his around mine and we just swayed to the music. It was the only thing we could do, the bar was packed tight, it was apparently a band that everyone was enthusiastic about. I laid my head on Jasper's chest and closed my eyes, swaying along with him in time to the music.

I felt Jasper's cheek on the top of my head and I smiled to myself. I was perfectly content to be wrapped in his embrace. I tried to block my visions for a while, all I could see was women approaching and asking to dance with Jasper and it was frustrating me. I knew he was irresistible but this was ridiculous. I felt Jasper's head move and placed a hand under my chin and pulled my face up to his and kissed me. I felt the joy surge through my body and I ached for him. As we pulled apart I looked deeply into his eyes. The surge of passion and love flowed between us like electricity, there was no need for words, we said it all through our own little sparks. It was ours, a bond between us that no one else could ever understand.

The song ended and we applauded the band happily. The next song was more upbeat and Jasper headed for the bar, he held my hand until he was to far out of reach and I smiled at him. He was going to let me dance.

I swayed my hips to the music and kept my eyes on Jasper, he was leaning against the bar looking like a deity that even the angels couldn't resist, the rhythm was hypnotizing and I lost myself in the moment.

After about four songs I was ready to move on, Jasper had been hit on more times than he could count on his hands and toes, he was wearing his wedding band and would flash it in the lights like it was a medal of honor. I laughed every time. I should have been jealous but I knew he was mine, for eternity. I had nothing to worry about.

I had also received unwelcome attention, but I had handled it a little better, I would see them coming and fling my arms about. I would generally catch them with a right hook before they got close and then apologize for my clumsiness. Most of them would take off, but those who found it endearing, met my husband.

The hours were moving on and it was time to get out before the sun came up. The bar had been emptying steadily but the band played as long as there was an audience. On the way out I picked up a CD, I smiled to myself. When Edward came home he would really appreciate this band. I didn't let my thoughts linger on my brother, wherever he was he was fine, I saw it as soon as I thought of him. Jasper picked up my hand and guided me out of the bar and into the filthy streets. I was almost giddy. The air smelt like stale alcohol and hot trash, so I held my breath as we walked towards the car. As we turned down the street that we parked the Mercedes on Jasper froze and pulled me close to him. I looked up and him curiously.

"What's the. . ." I didn't have to say anymore, with words came breath, with breath came smell, and I could smell them.

"Stay close to me." Jasper said quickly and quietly for only me to hear. I nodded, I couldn't say anything, I had, once again, gotten us into this mess with my persistence.

They stepped out of an alleyway a block from the car. There were two of them and they didn't look friendly. Jasper's lips curled back over his teeth and a guttural growl emitted from him, I was crouched and ready to prance, I could feel my lip curl slowly over my teeth.

The male that had stepped from the shadow laughed and stepped forward. Jasper crouched deeper. I flanked his left, eyeing the female that was slinking towards us behind the male.

"What do we have here?" purred the male acidly.

"We were just leaving," hissed Jasper, I knew he was following every move the male made, I was doing the same with the female. The female cackled and hissed at me and then continued to cackle as if she found herself to be amusing.

"Sapphire, be nice to our guests." said the male tipping his head to the side and eyeing me up and down. Jasper's growl turned into a snarl as he stepped closer towards me. He was going to get himself torn apart trying to protect me, I tried to concentrate to see if I could get far enough ahead to see in the future. They were looking stunned beyond belief, the Mercedes disappearing around the corner. Then I could see these two cornering a human in a dark alleyway. I was sure this meant that they were just teasing us. A fight would mean a lot of noise and unwanted attention. They wouldn't be able to feed if that happened. Not only that if we just walked away it would shock them into submission, at least that's how I interpreted it. I took my chance and stood up. The female, Sapphire, cackled again.

"No fight?" she whined. Her nasal tones instantly irked me and I rolled my eyes.

"Nope, we're leaving."

"Say's who?" said the male, I felt Jasper tense again. I crouched next to him and leaned in close.

"They don't want a fight, too much noise. We have to do something shocking so they won't have time to think" I said under my breath so that only he could hear me. He nodded and straightened up picking up my hand. The two of us headed towards the car.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Sapphire screeched.

The two of us ignored them and carried on forward. Jasper shouldered the male hard as he walked past. The male stumbled and stared incredulously after us, I sneered at him and followed Jasper to the car.

"Get in." he said under his breath.

We both hopped into the car and Jasper turned the key bringing the engine purring to life. The male and female stood staring at us as we pulled away from the curb.

"Good call, Alice." Jasper sighed in relief.

"Sorry," I whispered from my side of the car.

"Alice, I had fun."

I laughed and raised my eyebrows at him. "Okay so getting advances from adoring females and fights with the locals, constitutes as a good time. Good to know."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. I pulled the CD out of my pocket and popped it into the player on the dash and turned it up. A grin spread widely across Jasper's face and he raised his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked grinning back at him.

"I was just thinking, do I get a private dance whilst we're stuck in the hotel room?"

My mouth fell open in astonishment but quickly formed into a seductive smile. "We'll see."

* * *

**_A/N: Bad Jasper and Alice!! lol. I really am not sure about this Chapter so any feedback would be helpful, Like I mentioned I'll won't know unless u tell me..._**

**_You guys ROCK! :0)_**


	9. Chapter 8 Biloxi

_All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Thank you to the Rocking Reviewers, and people who add alerts, you ROCK :)_

_Songs for thought (Playlist player link in profile )_

_Colossal- Wolfmother, Under the Gun - The Killers, Throw me Away - Korn, Tearjerker - Korn_

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**Chapter Eight - Biloxi**

We Rolled into Biloxi as the sun hit the horizon, it lit the entire sky with oranges and reds, the light clouds that floated lazily held the early morning hues in elaborate designs. I sighed at the beauty of it. We didn't get to see the sun as often as we liked due to the heavy cloud cover of our normal habitats, but it made things easier so I never complained.

I sighed and looked across at Jasper, his eyes squinted in the early morning light. I ran my hand down his arm and smiled at him happily. We very rarely ventured away from our family so this was different, I missed them terribly but I enjoyed being alone with Jasper.

Thinking of the family reminded me of my promise and I pulled out my phone from the cup holder in the center console.

"Esme?" Jasper smiled. I nodded in answer and held the phone to my ear. He knew me so well. I listened as the phone rang and waited for the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Esme asked down the phone, she sounded a little down compare to her usual happy self.

"Esme?"

"Alice!" Esme's voice picked up immediately and sounded happy to hear the sound of mine.

"How is everything?"

"It's so good to hear your voice sweetheart, everything's fine here. What about you? Are you there yet?"

"Just arriving, we took a couple of detours." I said happily.

"Anywhere interesting?" she asked happily wanting to start a long conversation. I obliged and told her all of the things we'd seen along the way. Gatlinburg and the photos we'd be sending her and, of course, New Orleans. I left out the story of the locals, I didn't want to worry her.

"It's sounds like you've been having some fun."

"We have, but it's time to get down to business, we'll be doing research as much as we can and then we'll head home. I miss you, Esme."

"I miss you too, Alice." I could hear the smile in her voice and Jasper smiled at my sentiment.

"I'll call you tomorrow, I'll try and get you whilst Carlisle's there too."

"I'll look forward to it. You two look after each other, and call me if you need anything, okay?" she said happily into the phone. I knew that she hadn't heard from the others otherwise she would be telling me the news.

"I promise, Esme. I love you."

"Love you too sweetheart, and give my love to Jasper too, won't you?"

"Of course I will, I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye."

I flipped the phone shut and smiled. It was good to hear Esme's familiar voice. I missed all of my family terribly. Jasper picked up my hand and kissed it gently. Holding it to his heart. I knew he understood my emotion. Words were never necessary between us we seemed to have a deeper understanding of one another. He knew what I was thinking by the look in my eyes and I always knew how he felt due to his talent.

We decided to stay in one of the casino's hotels, if we got bored being stuck inside during the day it would give us something to do. And in the tradition of most casino's there were no windows. I let Jasper check us in as I eyed the machines, I knew the system and I knew one of them had to be close. I pulled out my casino card, we were in a casino that also had a site in Las Vegas so I knew it would work here. I spotted my machine and headed towards it, I swiped my card and pulled the large lever to the right. Instantly the sevens lined up and the bells and sirens began. The sirens were louder than any machine in the place and I hopped happily on the spot and spun around to find Jasper. He was stood at the reception desk with his arms folded across his chest and a smile danced happily on his lips as he shook his head in disbelief.

I was approached by several staff member who congratulated me and asked to see identification. I handed them my drivers license and my passport and grinned as the showed me to the desk where I would receive my prize money. I motioned for Jasper to follow.

When the staff member explained how winning worked and that they could take the taxes there and they gave me a complementary suite and blah, blah, blah. I'd heard it all before so I sat happily teasing Jasper, I threw my lustful emotions at him as hard as I could, I was trying to keep my smile at bay as the staff droned on. I knew I was effecting him because of the look in his eyes, he kept throwing calm waves across me but I was using that tom my advantage, it helped me concentrate on my objective. Jasper began rearranging himself in the seat impatiently wait for the staff to finish their rambling. They finally asked me if I understood everything and I nodded.

"So Mrs. Hale, here's your room key. We've given you the honeymoon suite, I can tell that you're newlyweds, and we've taken up far too much of your time."

Jasper tried to keep a straight face as he nodded the people who had been talking with us. He held out his arm for me to take. I hopped quickly to his side and wrapped my arm around his. I could feel his arm pulling mine towards his body. I hadn't relented and was still mischievously sending wave upon wave of lust and passion towards him.

"Thank you." I smiled sweetly at the staff as we headed towards the elevators. Jasper pressed the button and waited. He was wearing his poker face and I had no idea what he had in store for me, especially after playing games with him like that. He was almost hopping on the spot waiting for the elevator to stop in front of us. I couldn't help but smile. I knew he wouldn't hold it against me, he never did.

The doors slid open and we stepped aside as the other stepped out. We walked into the elevator and let the doors slide shut. As soon as the elevator started moving Jasper turned to me and picked me up in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He pushed me gently against the side of the elevator, his kiss becoming more urgent. His hands were everywhere and a gentle moan escaped my lips. I made a mental note to do this again, I liked the outcome. The doors slid open and Jasper carried me to the room, we fumbled weakly with the keycard and giggled as we stepped inside.

* * *

We had hooked up the laptop to the wi-fi in the room after we'd had our fun. Jasper did some research and we were headed to the asylum that Jasper had tracked down. Although we were certain this was the institution we were looking for we had a backup plan, there were another two within a hundred mile radius and those would be our next destination if we found nothing here.

We headed out as the sun fell behind the horizon. I had checked that we would be able to speak with someone at the late hour, and as the picture swirled in my head I realized that they would be willing speak with me, when we got there. Although I wasn't sure how much they would be able to tell me.

I pulled Jasper to the elevators and pressed the down button. I was nervous, I wasn't sure what I was going to find. Jasper pulled me to him and kissed my forehead.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Anxiety." Jasper grinned.

I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his waist happily.

The drive only took us fifteen minutes, we pulled up outside a brick building, that had a worn look and bars on the windows. I sighed heavily and looked a Jasper who squeezed my hand in support.

"You ready?" he asked, his eyes full of sympathy.

I nodded and pulled the door open to the car. I looked up at the building straining my mind to see if there was any recollection whatsoever there. The building was unfamiliar to me no matter how much I tried to concentrate. Jasper placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I stepped forward and into the building. The inside of the building felt sterile and cold. The tiles on the walls were cracked and some were missing and the shabby looking chairs were worn and faded. I approached the front desk that had a woman in scrubs sat behind it. Behind it looked like a jail rather than a hospital with bars and heavy mechanical doors. I stopped at the desk and waited.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked kindly.

"I was wondering if this is still, the county mental facility?"

The woman's eyebrows lifted as she looked at me closer. "No, not anymore. They moved to a newer building in 1989. We're now a correctional facility."

I looked up at Jasper hopelessly, I knew they would be helpful from my visions but I wasn't sure if this would help because I tried not to get stuck in the cycle of seeing what would happen and making a decision that changes what I see. It made things impossibly confusing. i had to get clues and follow them, it was the only way of certainty. I looked back up at the girl behind the desk.

"Maybe you can help me then?"

"I can try." She smiled happily and the gave a quick glance at Jasper, her eyes widened and I could see the lust in her eyes.

"Well," I said trying to bring her attention back to me. "I was adopted and I'm trying to find my family history, I know that my mom's mom's sister was admitted to the hospital in the early 1920's and I was hoping to find something about her. Do you know where the records are kept for the hospital?"

"I believe that all records were taken to the new building, I believe anything before 1950 is public record but you would have to check with the County clerks."

"How would I do that?" I asked watching as the woman's eyes moved across to Jasper again.

"Municipal building." she said not taking her eyes off Jasper.

"Where would I find that?" I asked getting impatient. Jasper was gorgeous and I had to admit at times it was hard to look away, but i was trying very hard to have a conversation with her.

"Downtown."

"K, thanks." I said picking up Jasper's hand. As he passed me towards the door.

"Have a good night." She called as we exited the main doors.

'_Oh my god what a hottie.' _ I heard her say as we approached the car. Damn the vampire hearing, it made it so hard to be blase about anything.

I sat back in the car and exhaled all the air in my lungs. "That was frustrating."

"I know, but at least you got something."

"Let me see if it's worth going to the municipal building at this time of the night." I said as I lay my head against the leather head rest.

Flashing before my eyes was a dark building, there were some lights on but the hours on the door said eight am until six pm. It would be difficult to get in at those times unless we were blessed with some bad weather in the next couple of days. I would have to keep an eye out. I wasn't sure how this was going to work, or how long we would have to wait. I was never really sure how far in advance I could pick weather patterns out but when I looked all I could see was sunlight.

"May as well head back to the hotel, Jazz. Eight till six." I sighed again.

Jasper nodded and backed out of the parking spot we were in, and took off towards the hotel.

"I can search some of the public records for the county and see if they have uploaded any of it onto the internet. If nothing else we can look at Births, Deaths and Marriages and see if we can find your birth certificate and if they ever filed a death certificate in your name. I don't know why I never thought of it before."

"Well, that's because we don't know my name Jasper. I don't even know when I was born."

"We'll figure something out, Alice." He picked up my hand and kissed it gently.

I nodded and stared out the window as the lights of the casino rushed towards us. There had to be a way and although i felt a little closer to where I needed to be I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. I was hoping that the building I kept seeing would still be the asylum, I hadn't seen anything that let me know otherwise when I had looked to see what would happen when we got there. We pulled into the hotel and left the car with the valet and headed back to our room.

I paced the room silently as Jasper researched on the internet. He found the County and started searching for information, he typed in the name Alice and the age and waited as the system sorted through some of it's files. It came back with answers but explained that we would have to mail a request or make an appointment to view the records. Jasper jotted down some of the names that with Alice that came up around the same time frame as I was human and around the same age I was when I was changed, we guessed eighteen or nineteen.

He folded the paper up and stuck it in his pocket. I knew he would keep it there until we hit some luck and were able to investigate. I was hoping there would be some bad weather coming soon. I sat on the bed and laid back feeling defeated. Jasper laid with his head on my stomach and pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket.

"Hmm, what are our choices Jazz?" I asked, closing my eyes not wanting to look.

"Okay, we have Elizabeth Alice Morgan, Alice Louise Lear, Mary Alice Brandon, and Sarah Alice Dawson."

"That's it?" I asked rolling my head on the bed to look at him. He looked toward me and nodded.

"Well when we get in there it shouldn't take long to look up."

Jasper nodded and folded the piece of paper again and placed it in his pocket. He reached for the T.V. remote and clicked a button. The plasma on the wall lit up and a chattering blonde filled the screen. It was the news and the anchor looked like a pageant queen. I rolled my eyes and then closed them. I tried checking the names out whilst we checked them and tried not to see the fine print so I would force myself to go. I was concentrating so hard the images began to flicker, I saw Edward in a dark alley, he was in the shadows watching people move around the streets. He looked okay, but the circles under his eyes were dark, he obviously hadn't fed in a while. It was nice to see that he was okay.

I dug in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone and dialed Edward's number. I listened to the ringing, I wasn't sure if he could feel it where he was, I was sure he had it on vibrate. If he didn't answer I planned on leaving him a message.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Edward's voice came through the ear piece in a frantic worry, this was hard to hear. I knew what he thought the call was about and I immediately regretted worrying him.

"Nothing, Edward." I sighed into the phone. Jasper looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

"Why are you calling me then? Is it Bella, is she okay?" his tone was frantic now and I could feel the despair through the phone. Yep it was a bad idea to make him worry like this. Smart Alice, really smart! I told myself before I could answer him honestly.

"Edward, I'm respecting your wishes and not watching her, so I honestly wouldn't know."

"Good, thank you, Alice. What did you need?" he voice faded back into the monotonous and agonizing slur he had adopted since we left Forks.

"Well, I was just calling to remind you to hunt, you look terrible."

"How. . . Alice, stop watching me."

"Edward, I'm not 'watching' you, I just happened to catch you whilst I was looking for something else."

"Well, fine. Just be careful, are you still in Mississippi?"

"Yeah, we made a stop in Gatlinburg and New Orleans."

"New Orleans?"

"Yeah, we ran into some locals!"

"Dammit, Alice. Why will you never listen to Jasper. I know he told you not to."

"Edward, stop being such an old woman please."

All I got in reply was a sigh, I rolled my eyes in response but I knew the sigh was a tell tale sign that he wasn't doing as well as he was letting on.

"How are holding up, Edward?" I asked in almost a whisper.

"I can't, Alice, I'm sorry. . ." and with that he hung up the phone.

I dropped the phone beside me, and ran one of my hands through Jasper's hair gently. He kept silent and turned back to the T.V.

I hated that I spoke without thinking sometimes, it always ended up like that, someone would get angry or upset at me and I was left feeling confused and guilty. I sighed and closed my eyes again, I knew what I was doing was wrong but I just needed to make sure she was okay, even if it was for a second.

The picture that came to me didn't please me in the least. Bella looked paler than normal and skinny. Her hair was a mess and she looked completely lifeless. I opened my eyes and felt the hopelessness flood over me. I knew I shouldn't have looked. I didn't know what I was thinking. But the images I saw came in an endless cycle, it was almost as if her soul had left her body and she was an empty shell walking around and mimicking life. It was the most heart wrenching scene I had ever seen. Someone so full of life looked lifeless, I tried to tell them it was a bad idea. She was in too deep.

Jasper immediately felt my emotions and sat up pulling me towards him. His hands ran down the side of my face to comfort me as my body once again shook with the tearless sobs.

* * *

A/N: Hmmm, Alice is getting a little closer to the truth, I hope I'm not boring y'all. sigh

Let me know. . . Thanks guys :0)


	10. Chapter 9 Who Am I?

_All things Twilight belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Songs For thought:_

_Teardrop - Massive Attack, Angel - Massive Attack, New Born - Muse_

* * *

**Chapter Nine - Who am I?**

I knew that I had to give them some time, so I decided I would keep to myself what I saw for a couple of months and then check again and see if anything changed. I reprimanded myself for my stupid action. I had upset Jasper and myself and it changed nothing. I would never tell Edward what I was doing, but I promised myself that if in four months time, if she was still suffering, I would go back, even if I had to go alone.

Jasper didn't like that I was interfering. He was worried it would end up hurting everybody else. I had a lot of time to reflect on that because we had been stuck in the casino for a week. We occasionally walked by the water in the evenings and then we would gamble. It was pretty pathetic how much money we were winning. I would occasionally lose big, and so would Jasper.

He preferred the poker tables, people had great poker faces but inside they were either exploding with excitement or nonchalant, which made it easy for Jasper to pick the players with winning hands.

I was a dab hand at blackjack, I could see what was coming before they dealt it, so I would bet high or low depending on the hand, and I would always see the next card coming, which made it easier to hit or stick. It also made it easy to lose. We were beginning to get cabin fever.

We finally cut a break on a Tuesday afternoon. A low traveling storm was heading in and would give us at least six hours of decent cover form the sun. Jasper made sure he still had the list and we headed out. As we arrived in the municipal building I began getting nervous, I wasn't sure what we'd find and I although I was curious as to why my parents had put me in such a place, I couldn't help worrying that they had a reason to do it. A reason other than my visions.

I turned to head back out of the building when Jasper picked up my hand and pulled me to him. His strong arms closed around me and my head laid on his chest, one of his hands was stoking me gently.

"You can do this, Alice. You're one of the strongest people I know."

I drew in a long breath and let it out through my nose. I closed my eyes and tried to muster all the strength I had in me before I nodded. His arms loosened around me and one of his hands clutched mine and spun me around once again to face the main reception desk. The woman sat behind it was watching us curiously. Jasper ran one of his hands along my jaw line and I looked up at him.

He nodded in encouragement.

We approached the desk and stopped, the nameplate on the receptionists desk read 'Maria Worth'. I nodded and smiled my sweetest smile.

"Hi, can I help you with anything?" she asked kindly.

"I was hoping to find some records on my great aunt, she lived here in the nineteen-twenties. I believe she was admitted to the county asylum. I was wondering if you could tell me where to find the records?"

The woman nodded and smiled, she began typing on the computer system in front of her. I leanedagainst the desk still holding Jasper's hand but watching the woman work.

"Okay, just one second and I'll call a clerk to come and help you, if you'd like to take a seat." she pointed to a row of padded chairs that were surrounded by potted plants and tables with magazines. I nodded and pulled Jasper with me to a chair.

It didn't take long for someone to come to us, the clerk was a twenty something college student. He smiled happily at me but eyed Jasper nervously.

"I'm Conner, I'll be helping you today, if you'd like to follow me I can take you where you need to go."

We followed Conner through thin white halls, that had no windows. The musty smell, I assumed came from all the old records that they kept here. I was clinging to Jasper's hand and he was continuously sending me waves of serenity and I was thankful for it. I wasn't sure what our equivalent to passing out was but I was sure that, if Jasper hadn't of been around, I would've found out.

Conner stopped at a door and waved his badge in front of it, I heard the lock click and he pushed the door open. Behind the door was row upon row of file cabinets, each had numbers on them. I looked to Jasper hoping that they had a filing system and didn't just shove it all inside.

Conner closed the door behind us and pointed at a desk that had a computer on it.

"You can search for names, birthdays, weddings, deaths and hospital records on that machine. Anything after 1955 hasn't been added yet. We update regularly but if it has come to us recently, it may not be in the system. If you can't find it in the computer," he headed towards a large bookshelf that held numerous volumes of large record books. "You can search in these, it takes longer but everything is recorded in them. If you have any questions, I'll be in my office." He pointed to a door on the far right wall.

"Thanks, Conner." Jasper smiled at him and sat down at the computer. I smiled at Conner and stood behind Jasper watching his fingers move on the keys as he pulled out his list.

He typed in the first name '_Elizabeth Alice Morgan_', and it popped up on the screen, the reference number was sat next to it and I looked up at the file cabinets again and sighed.

"I'll go find this first one, you write the rest of them on the paper and we can go through them when we've finished with the first file." I smiled.

Jasper nodded at me and started typing again. I disappeared into the maze and followed the number I was chanting in my head.

After a couple of corners I found the number I was looking for and pulled open the drawer, all of the names were in alphabetical order by the last names. I finally found the file I was looking for '_Morgan, Elizabeth Alice_' I pulled it out and headed back to the desk at the front of the room. I pulled up a chair next to Jasper and placed the file on the desk. He kissed the side of my head just above my ear, ti nudge me to open it. I opened the file and started flipping through the documents, there were medical reports but they were for things such as a broken arm and stitches.

There was no mention of the asylum anywhere in the file. I slapped it closed and sighed.

"Next," Jasper got up with me and we started towards the maze, Conner popped his head out of the door and smiled.

"I forgot to mention, any files you take out you can leave on the table and I'll return them and if you need copies, the copier is by the door."

"Thanks," I smiled and headed back to the table to place the file I was holding onto it. We headed back into the maze that was the cabinets and picked out the final three files and headed back to the desk. Jasper handed me the file with the name '_Lear, Alice Louise_' I flopped it open and then closed it again, and laughed.

"What?" Jasper asked and flopped the file open. There was a hospital report on top that had pictures attached, apparently poor Alice Lear, it was a medical mystery at the time. She was asiamese twin. Jasper shook his head and shuddered.

"I don't think that's you." he grinned and slapped the file shut again. He handed me the file '_Brandon, Mary Alice_' I flipped it open and read the birth certificate. I flipped back to the medical history and flipped through the pages. When I saw the letter head from the county asylum I squeezed Jasper's hand. He rubbed my shoulder gently as I took a deep breath.

"You want me to read it?" he asked sympathetically.

I nodded and laid my head on the desk in front of me.

"Okay, Mary Alice Brandon, Born February 23, 1901, four foot, ten inches tall, seventeen years old. Admitted to the institution January seventeenth, nineteen eighteen. Patients parents complain that child has unusual psychotic breaks in which she sees future events. Parents George and Mabel Brandon have one other child, Cynthia, seems to be normal. Admitted for observation and Shock therapy. Notes held within." Jasper stopped and looked at me briefly. "Items removed upon arrival. . ."

I put my hand on his arm to stop him, there were no need for words, he knew what I wanted. He scanned the document and I could see his eyes grow darker from anger, these were the things I was asking him to skip, I didn't want all of the gory details, just enough to work with, to find my family and perhaps the kind hearted attendant that had saved me from James.

"Admitted to solitary confinement after threatening a staff member, predicting her death. Treatment has been doubled." Jasper shook his head in disgust as he read on. By the looks of the file I had spent at least two years in the institution. I pulled out my death certificate, it had the admission date on it and I frowned and looked over Jasper's shoulder at the notes.

"What date do those notes go to Jazz?" I asked starting in confusion at the certificate I held in my hand.

"They last entry is on January twenty-fourth, nineteen twenty. Why?" I handed him the certificate and raised my eyebrows.

"But, that's two years before. . . that's your admission date!"

I nodded, "What else does it say?"

"Nothing much, just that you spent the rest of the time in solitary and. . . a porter would hear you crying as he cleaned in the evenings, the notes say that you spoke to him. You would beg him to help you get out. . ."

"A name?" I was hopeful that this may have been the kind hearted vampire that had helped me escape, in a manner of speaking.

"No, there's no name but. . ." Jasper concentrated on the sheet and growled.

"What is it?" I asked scanning the sheet trying to find what had caused such a reaction.

_. . . January 20th, 1920._

_Patient has a strange reaction to the new patient that was admitted and placed in the solitary cell next to her. The patient was placed in solitary after trying to convince staff members he was a 'vampire'. He successfully attacked a member of staff with a knife but said weapon was never found. _

_Porter on the level, who speaks with Alice, has said that the patient 'James McDonald' has threatened her on numerous occasions. In the words on the porter, he 'torments' her. _

_Patient's therapy has been induced due to violent reactions when trying to remove her from cell the staff member, Nurse Amelia Jackson, reports the patients screaming, 'he'll kill me, he'll kill me.'_

_January 21st, 1920_

_Patient has become non responsive. . ._

I sat back, if I was angry. I looked up at Jasper, one of his hands was clamped onto the desk. The cracking noise made it evident he was squeezing too hard.

"Jasper?" I said loudly and he looked at me his eyes retaining the hatred that he found in the words of the document. I nodded down to his hand and he released it immediately.

"Alice. . ." I could hear the loathing in his voice.

"Don't Jazz," I stopped him before he could go any further. "As sad as it all is and as angry as it makes me, I don't regret what happened to me. If this never happened, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have met you. I would never have found Esme and Carlisle. I would have never found my truest of love, my heart, my soul." I held his hand tenderly, and smiled weakly. He picked up my hand and kissed it gently.

"I am thankful for one thing, you never felt anything. There was no pain involved for you." I smiled at him again and looked down at the folder before closing my eyes. I didn't want to see anymore.

"I'm going to make a copy of the birth and death certificates and copy the medical files for Carlisle. Don't go anywhere."

I nodded and laid my head on the desk, Mary Alice Brandon. It actually seemed to suit me. I had a sister, Cynthia. I was wondering if she was still alive. Ninety years, I doubted it. I pulled the file towards me again and looked at something Jasper had detached from the death certificate. It was the police report that mentioned a body was never found due to a fire and that the case was still open, that was in nineteen twenty-five.

Jasper, sat back down next to me and reorganized the papers in front of him. I slid the report towards him. He picked up the paper and headed towards the computer. He checked Conner's door before sitting down and he started typing.

"What are you doing?" I said under my breath, quiet enough that only Jasper would hear me.

"Well, this is the municipal building, Alice. I'm sure their servers are attached throughout the building, I'm going to try and get into the police records."

I smiled to myself. I was married to a genius. I rested my elbows on the tables and rested my head on my hands and watched him type, keeping an eye out in case Conner decided to see how we were doing.

"Hmm."

"What?" I whispered.

"Your parents closed the case in nineteen fifty-five. You would have been fifty-four."

"What else does it say?"

"It has your sisters information in here. I'll check that out on this system in a moment and see if she's still in town."

He jotted something down quickly and then switched back to the program we had used previously. He wrote down information quickly and then cleared all the information from the screen. He smiled at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, unfortunately you sister died in eighty-four at the age of eighty-eight, she did have a daughter Anne, who is still alive and living in Biloxi, she had her in thirty-one, she's seventy-five. She had three kids two boys and a girl in. . ."

I laughed and held up my hand. "Good to know."

"Wait, they all live here in Biloxi." he grinned. "We get to see your great nieces and nephews!"

I laughed and picked up his hand, we were running out of time, the storm had almost completely passed and we had to get back to the hotel before the made it's grand reappearance.

"Thanks, Conner." I called on the way out and we slipped out the door.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the whole self discovery thing, I wasn't sure if it was boring or not, I did a little bit of research and tried to find some info but there was nada. . . I don't even know if Harrison County has a municipal Building with that info available, :0S. . . Oh well!**_

_**Thanks to the AWESOME and WONDERFUL REVIEWERS. . . YOU ROCK!!**_

_**Link to the Playlist player is on my profile. . . ;0D**_


	11. Chapter 10 Unexpected

_The twilight Universe is all Stephenie Meyer's - 71 Days til Breaking Dawn. . . yay (:_

**_Songs for thought:_**

_Disenchanted - My Chemical Romance, The Gift - Seether, Micro Cuts - Muse._

* * *

**Chapter Ten - Unexpected.**

Jasper chatted at me all the way to the hotel and I sat with a dumbfounded grin on my face. I still had living relatives. It was an astounding feeling knowing that I had a real family that knew nothing about my existence. Jasper was just as excited. Now he had a name and dates it would be so much easier to track down information. I'd never seen him talk so much, it was quite an anomaly. One I could happily get used to.

We pulled into the hotel around ten minutes before the sun was due out, well actually it was nine minutes and thirty-seven seconds, but I wasn't counting. Jasper pulled me towards the elevators happily. We waited for the doors to close.

"Alice, are you excited?" he asked trying to focus on my emotions. He was letting out enough for the two of us so he hadn't noticed.

"Well, I'm glad I know who I am. . . but. . . it really doesn't change anything Jasper." I said as the realization hit me. All of the information we had discovered today meant nothing except that I had been admitted to a looney bin with the freaks and weirdos and hunted by a sadistic vampire. I still had no idea who it was that released me from my prison, and I meant that in physical and mental terms. I also didn't know much about my family. I was sure I would have to do more research into my parents. That would mean a library, and searching newspapers from the dates we had found.

"Okay, I see your point, we have a lot more to go on." I admitted and I stepped out of the elevator. I put my hand in Jasper's and stopped him. I shook my head in disbelief at what I had just seen.

"Alice, are you seeing something?" he asked placing his comforting hands on my shoulders.

I nodded, "Actually, I've already seen it."

"Well?" he asked quietly.

"Emmett and Rosalie are headed in this direction, they're bored of Europe but don't want to go home. They just got on a plane."

Jasper rolled his eyes and lead me to our suite. "Best we get some research out of the way before they get here. Esme?" he asked knowing that she would have told them where we were.

I nodded and headed for the phone, she was about to call and apologize.

Jasper was on the internet for most of the afternoon, he found my obituary and my grave. There was nothing about my parents but I wasn't expecting there to be, the online information only went as far back as nineteen-thirty. He had also scooped up the addresses of my great nieces and nephews. He wanted to see if we could do some surveillance and get some pictures for me and Esme to keep. This thoughtfulness made me realize more than ever why I loved this man the way I do. Anything he thought would make me happy, he did. Anything I did that he didn't necessarily agree with, and ended up being the wrong thing, he would pick up the pieces. He looked after me, loved me and he was always there for me. I couldn't believe my luck.

Tonight we were planning on visiting my grave site, I wanted to lay flowers on the grave and make sure it was taken care of. I wasn't sure why it worried me considering I was stood here, as alive as I could be at over a hundred years old. It would be nice to know how long it had been since someone had cared that I had been lost.

We headed out at sunset, Rosalie and Emmett wouldn't be arriving for another three hours so we had plenty of time to get everything taken care of before we picked them up at the airport.

The cemetery was beautiful, it was close to the coastline and had trees dotted throughout. Each tree had at least a hundred wind-chimes hung in them which made magical music in the resting places of so many. Jasper had found the exact location of the plot on the internet and we strolled through the cemetery quietly and thoughtfully. Cemetery's were always so quiet and as creepy as people found them I thought of them as magical. Under the ground lay so many lives, and stories. So much history and love. I didn't think of the death, I thought of the lives they must of had before that death. I was looking at the beautiful flowers as we walked. I had brought my camera because as morbid as it sounded Esme wanted to see where they had laid me to rest.

Jasper halted quickly and squeezed my hand gently. I looked up and I saw what had stopped him. I tried to stop the gasp escaping me but it was too late, a small squeak escaped my lips. There stood in front of me was a young girl, she must have been in her early twenties. She had long black hair that reached down to the middle of her back. She was slightly taller than I am but not by much, the alarming thing was her features, she was almost the mirror image of _me_.

We stared at each other in silence, both with a look of complete amazement on our faces. Jasper looked between us in complete awe.

"H. . . Hi." I said timidly, and smiled.

"Hi," the girl answered.

"This is strange." Jasper chuckled trying to relieve the tension. I looked up at him and back at the girl.

"I'm Alice Hale, you are?" I asked trying to get some kind of answer to this alternate universe.

"I'm Angela Stevens, people call me Angel. Are you here to visit Mary Alice Brandon by any chance?" She grinned I knew she saw the remarkable resemblance just as much as we did.

I nodded quickly and smiled."I traced some of my family history back to the Brandon's." I mumbled.

"How exciting." She smiled forgetting the awkwardness of the situation. I looked up at Jasper who stared at us looking bemused. "It seems we're related wouldn't you think?" She motioned between the two of us, an amused smile dancing on her lips.

I nodded again at a loss for words. Jasper pulled out the camera and grinned, snapping a picture of the two of us.

"Jasper," I snapped and shook my head.

"Oh no it's fine, I have to admit the resemblance is uncanny. Here. . ." She looped her arm through mine and posed. I smiled, I knew I must look completely bewildered.

Jasper laughed happily. "Thanks. Angel, was it?"

Angel nodded happily. "I can show you the grave of my great, great, Aunt if you like. I keep it maintained. I know grandma finds it hard to get out her as much as she wants to, so I try and look after it. I feel a kinship with her, apparently she was thrown into the nuthouse for visions, but doing family history, I'm sure you're aware of that." she stopped for a breath. "It sounds strange but I think I have some of the same talent. . ."

I squeaked and look over at Jasper who was laughing quietly to himself. I narrowed my eyes and then looked back at Angel when she started to talk again.

"It's a shame she wasn't born a little later when it was more acceptable to see things like she did. As it stood though, according to my Grandma, people thought she was like the grim reaper or something. Apparently though they never complained when she predicted the good things. Funny how petty people can be." She guided me towards a beautifully maintained grave under a large River Birch tree. There were all kinds of chimes and charms hung over the top of the grave. I smiled happily to myself I enjoyed knowing that people cared.

"What else can you tell me about Mary Alice?" I asked as I crouched beside a beautiful silk flower arrangement.

Angel drew in a long breath and let it out happily as she thought. "Well, okay I guess it's best to start at the beginning. My great grandma Cynthia was close to her sister Mary Alice, they just called her Alice. GG Cynthia was angry at her parents for putting Alice in that hospital and was devastated when she was never found in the fire. She believed her sister was still alive and never stopped hoping. She came to this grave every Sunday her entire life until she couldn't get here anymore, that was when my grandma started coming for her, she knew how much it meant to gg. Well, when her parents closed the case in the fifties she never forgave them. She cut all ties with her parents and never really spoke with them again. She replaced the headstone from a simple cross to the one you see here and replaced the flowers every month. She used Silk flowers so they would always be perfect."

I could feel the heaving in my chest as I gasped for air. I couldn't put it in words how much it all meant to me, and this poor girl in front of me would never understand. At a loss for words I threw my arms around her neck and hugged her. I didn't know what else to do. She hugged me back and giggled gleefully.

"You been searching for a while?" she asked understanding.

"A couple of years now." I admitted.

"Well, I have to be off, but here. . ." Angel dug in her purse and pulled out a piece of paper and then continued digging. Jasper held out a pen and smiled. She beamed a charming smile up at him as she took the pen from him. She jotted down some information on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"Okay, that's my phone number in case you have any questions, I don't have a habit of giving out my number but seeing as we look like sisters I think that giving a description wouldn't be difficult." She giggled happily and handed Jasper the pen. "Under that is the library that holds most of the newspaper microfiches from the time. And that's the Municipal building address with the file number. They're pretty helpful but if they give you trouble tell them I sent you. I'm doing a thesis on my ancestry." She smiled at me happily and shook her head in disbelief. "Okay, so I'm going to get out of here, I feel completely embarrassed for talking your ears off like that. Like I said though, thesis, if you have questions call me."

She grinned and disappeared through the cemetery. Jasper and I stood watching her, still speechless. I held the piece of paper in my hand and just stared at it.

"Did that just happen?" Jasper asked chuckling and sent some strong serenity in my direction.

I felt my stance relax a little and I folded myself down to sit on the floor in front of my grave. It was so immaculate I was speechless still. Jasper crouched beside me and wrapped his arms tightly around my shoulders. "Alice, are you okay?"

"Never better," I managed to get out, then I started laughing hysterically and I couldn't stop. It was like an instinct that took over me. I wrapped my arms around myself and laughed. Jasper pulled me tightly to him. I knew he understood, he always did.

The laughing finally subsided, I knew it was an irrational reaction but I couldn't have helped it if I wanted to. I placed my flowers on the grave and took some pictures of the headstone and the trees that hung dutifully over it. I said goodbye to my former self. I was beginning to realize that even if I interrogated all of the living family members, they wouldn't be able to help me figure out who released me. That was something that could never be found, even if I found a list of employees at the time, we wouldn't be able to pinpoint who was on what floor.

I had to accept that it would be the one part of my history I could never solve.

Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head. "C'mon, or we'll be late for Rosalie and Emmett."

I nodded and followed him from the cemetery.

* * *

The airport was stuffed full of people, and with the hunting near Biloxi being nothing compared to that of Gatlinburg, I worried a little about Jasper having to be mixed in so closely with all these people. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, trying to not give off any signal that I was worried about him. I knew it would hurt his pride if I did.

Rosalie and Emmett appeared through a sea of people, with Rose's beauty and Emmett's intimidating form they flowed through the crowd easily, people stepped out of their way and they passed through like royalty.

"Alice," Rosalie squeaked and wrapped her arms around my neck happily. I raised my eyebrows at Emmett over her shoulder and he shrugged grinning sheepishly. Rosalie released me and threw her arms around Jasper happily. I hugged Emmett briefly, and stepped away.

"So, where are we staying?" Rose asked curiously.

"Honeymoon suite of course." I said rolling my eyes, she knew me better than that. I also knew that if hadn't of been occupying it, her first order of business was to acquire it with her gambling. She was easy to read sometimes.

"How many bedrooms?" she asked again raising her eyebrows.

"One but it's all your as long as you don't trash the place." I said looking pointedly at Emmett.

"We're never going to live that down are we?" Emmett grinned.

"Nope." I lead the way through the sea of people to the Mercedes as we chatted politely amongst ourselves.

"Esme, was saying you went to New Orleans." Rose said as she slipped behind the wheel. She was very much like Edward in that respect. She loved driving and next to her Red BMW it was the Mercedes.

"Yeah, we did." Jasper said from the backseat which he shared with Emmett.

"How fun was it, it's one of the places I've never been." she gushed as she pulled out of the parking structure and floored the gas.

"We're not going back!" Jasper said in a little too matter-of-fact tone.

"Why's that?" Rosalie asked as she primped herself in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, why is that, Jazz?" I asked smiling, "It wasn't all that bad."

"The farewell committee seemed a little much, wouldn't you say?" he laughed.

"Farewell what?" Emmett asked looking between us all.

"We ran into some of the locals. They didn't seem too happy to see us." I said pouting my lips playfully.

Emmett raised his eyebrows and grinned. "That could be fun."

"Emmett, we just spent almost two month trying to relax, why would you try and get yourself all worked up in the first hour that we're home?" Rosalie asked eyeing her husband suspiciously in the mirror.

"I won't get worked up, I think it'll be fun."

"The music was awesome." I said trying to divert them from the ensuing argument. We were in a confined space after all. I pulled out the CD and held it up for them. "Wanna listen?"

Rosalie nodded and Emmett shrugged his shoulders. I cued up my favorite song and let it play. I turned up the radio loudly drowning out any chance of talking, or in Emmett and Rosalie's case, fighting.

We pulled up at the hotel and climbed out, Rosalie as always threw the keys at the valet and headed inside. She walked in, head high like she was a member of royalty and stopped outside of the elevators and grinned at me. I could see the excited twinkle in her eye and knew exactly what she had planned. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night.

* * *

**A/N: Hello fantastic people. . . The song Alice was playing in the car was When the Lights go Out by the Black Keys.**

**Thank you to the Reviewers, YOU ROCK, No Really you do! (0: - Lemme know what you think**

**-L (link to playlist player is on my profile ;0)**


	12. Chapter 11 Round Two

_The Twilight universe belongs to awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Songs for Thought:_

_Pride and Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughn, Shake 'em on down - R. L. Burnside, Black Grease - The Black Angels, An evening with El Diablo - Chevelle._

* * *

**Chapter Eleven - Round Two**

"No," Jasper folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows stubbornly.

"C'mon, Jazz. How often are we in the south? It'll be okay." Emmett said slapping Jasper on the back happily. Rosalie had made a decision that she wanted to go to New Orleans, she was in the mood to dance and the music I supplied had given her the incentive.

"No, it's stupid, we'll make a spectacle of ourselves." he said dropping onto the bed.

"Alice?" Rose asked and turned to me. I closed me eyes and concentrated on Rosalie's decision to go to New Orleans. I saw the two vampires again but this time they weren't as forgiving, they saw our last actions as hostile. They'll notice the car and come looking for us. The next would depend on our decisions.

"We'll see them again." I said simply. "They'll see the car and come looking for us, but the rest depends on our decisions, so it's hard to make out."

"We'll park somewhere different!" Rosalie said as if it fixed the situation completely.

I was looking forward to dancing again, especially having Rosalie there it would be fun. I knew Jasper was nervous because he knew how the southern covens worked. So I kept his wishes in mind.

"What would happen if they did see us again?" I asked Jasper seriously and sitting next to him.

"It depends on the factors. Are they just living in the city alone, or are they part of a larger coven? Were they made for a reason? I already told you the stories from Mexico City. New Orleans would be a gold mine for a older, more powerful vampire. With the murder statistics as they are there, it would be easy to hide from the Volturi."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and dropped on the bed next to Jasper. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder and batted her eyelashes playfully. "Just a couple of hours Jasper, we were on the plane for so long."

"She's breaking out the arsenal now Jazz," laughed Emmett, who was watching his wife as the humor danced around his eyes.

"This is madness." sighed Jasper shaking his head. Rosalie hopped up and clapped her hands in triumph.

"Let's get ready, Alice." she grinned and pulled me into the bathroom. I looked back at Jasper, and he nodded. I knew he would understand. I also knew that he sometimes had a tendency to protect me more than I needed protecting.

After an hour we were ready to leave, with Rosalie driving it would take even less time to get there, the girl was a speed demon. As we followed the G.P.S. we made sure not to follow the directions to the last place we'd parked and we picked a busy and less hidden street to park on. We didn't want to take any chances.

Rosalie was, as always, dressed in her favorite color and looking dangerous. She was wearing a cowl neck lined dress that looked like a second skin, the back was low and Jewels lined the straps, she had told me she bought it in Paris and it was very evident, the simple lines fit Rosalie's body to perfection and the red captured every eye on Bourbon Street. This seemed to excite Emmett rather than make him jealous. Jasper shook his head in disbelief. Rosalie looped her arm with mine and giggled, she'd bought me a gift from Paris it was a fitted pink dress that hugged my figure perfectly, with a halter neck strap and uneven bottom. Rosalie had told me it was all the rage in Europe and it accentuated my legs. I think she'd forgotten who she was talking to. But since it was an act of kindness I let it go.

We headed towards the club that Jasper and I had been in, but there was no live band tonight. They had the jukebox blaring and the bodies were once again packed onto the dance floor. Rosalie took my hand and pulled me onto the floor and started spinning me. The music was infectious, I even saw Jasper and Emmett stood against a wall tapping their feet. Rosalie, copying the couples dancing around us started dipping me and twirling us out and in, it was highly entertaining.

As the dance floor became more crowded the dancing became more personal. Rosalie and I were practically an inch apart so we synchronized our dancing so we could occupy our space safely. Once glance over at Jasper and Emmett told us this was a bad thing. I looked around and half of the eyes in the bar were on me and Rosalie. I laughed and called Jasper to me. I loved Rosalie but it was a little weird. As Jasper approached I wrapped my arms around his neck and began dancing with him in close proximity. He wasn't a huge dancer but he humored me, and I knew it.

The atmosphere was euphoric and Jasper was sending so many emotions and me I almost became giddy, it wasn't intentional, it was as if his was a filter for every emotion in the room. He could normally control this but he was concentration on me. His hands held me close to him and our hips swung together with the rhythm of the music. Jasper smiled and turned my head to Emmett and Rosalie who were now dancing closely together and it was borderline obscene, it was almost sex with their clothes on. If I could have blushed I would have.

I turned my attention back to Jasper who was sending waves of lust at me now. My body had a mind of it's own at this point as it longed to be even closer to my love. I laughed and moved my mouth as close to his ear as I could get it. He leaned in to hear me.

"That could be dangerous in a situation this tightly packed." I said then nibbled on his ear quickly. Jasper grinned and pulled me closer to him. His lips met mine and the gentle, lustful kiss sent shivers down my spine. It was intoxicating, I ran my hand down the side of his face and rested my thumb on his chin. He pulled away gently and looked in my eyes, he eyes were burning with passion my entire being tingled with excitement and my legs felt weak beneath me. Jasper laughed and placed his hands on my hips and pulled me closer so he could move with me as we danced. It was truly the most erotic moment we'd ever had in public. If it hadn't been for everyone else in the bar dancing the same way I would have been quite flustered. It occurred to me that for the first time in a long time we hadn't been concentrating on what we were, we were having fun and enjoying one another's company. It felt nice, it felt right.

The club started emptying at three and it was soon apparent that Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and I were the only ones still dancing. Rosalie had one of her arms draped over Emmett's shoulders, he had his to hands on her waist and was swaying with her to the music.

I whistled over the music to the two of them and motioned to the door, I had some work to do and we didn't have long to get back. The sun would inevitably be making an appearance. We walked out to the muggy and pungent street and headed towards the car. Rosalie was still full of energy and was practically skipping down the street. She was however still holding Emmett's hand and I had a sneaking suspicion that it was that fact alone keeping the cat calling and wolf whistles at bay.

I smiled happily, I'd had fun. It was nice to be with Rosalie and Emmett when they were in such a playful mood. Things with Rosalie had been so tense for the last couple of years. Jasper plucked me out of my reverie and he literally swept me off my feet and kissed me. He held me cradled in his arms, close to his chest.

As I closed my eyes, I saw the two vampires again, they were with the Mercedes and the male leaned against it waiting for us, the female was sat on the hood of the car and evil glint in her eye, she wasn't happy that we'd come back after disrespecting them the last time. They were alone, there would be no one to back them up for miles.

"Stop." Jasper stopped mid step and put me down on my feet, I smiled up at him. Rosalie and Emmett came closer. "They're at the car waiting. I can't see anybody else around but we need to be careful, they're both pissed."

"I can handle this." said Rosalie and she dropped Emmett hand and marched forward as fast as she possibly could in the public eye.

"Rosalie." Jasper hissed as we followed her as quickly as we could.

"Rose, baby." Emmett whined trying to catch up a little quicker.

Rosalie marched around the corner and headed towards the car. She pulled out the keys and clicked the locks. Swinging her hips far more than what was necessary she continued to walk. We were just turning the corner when she spoke to them

"What the hell are you doing on my car?" Rosalie's tone was poisonous.

"Who the hell are you?" The female spat at her.

"Someone who'll tear every hair from your head if you don't get your ass of my car!"

"Now ladies, calm down." The males voice was dripping with what I was sure he thought was charisma.

"Excuse me?" Rosalie said vehemently. That was my cue.

"You should listen to the girl, she has quite a temper." I said stepping forward and stopping beside Rosalie. We were taunting them, we knew this but they were poorly out numbered and I saw that after the decision we made there would be no trouble, they would walk away with a couple of bruised egos.

"Look what we've got here," purred the female happily.

I tipped my head to the side and smiled simply, I could feel my eyes narrowing and I tried to take control. I didn't want to be provoked into a fight, especially not by this obviously young and inexperienced vampire. "Sorry honey, I don't swing that way." I said knowing that it would insult her. I had seen some of the decisions that were flicking through her head. It was below the belt but I couldn't resist.

The female growled and slid from the hood of the car, her stance immediately became a crouch.

Rosalie stroked my arms gently and giggled happily. "It seems you hit a raw note there," she hushed her voice slightly but stage whispered. "I think she's still in the closet."

The female pounced out of her crouched stance towards us but was caught around the waist by the male. She snapped and snarled as she tried to twist free of his arms. Rosalie and I laughed.

We were being unnecessarily cruel but we knew that if we'd try to do what Jasper and I did the other night they wouldn't be so easy to let it go, and because they were ready for it.

The female began regaining composure and wrapped herself around the male seductively, eyeing us with a venomous stare.

"Oh sweetheart," laughed Rosalie evilly. "You're doing it all wrong."

Rosalie spun on her heels and faced Emmett who was stood a couple of feet behind her. She took off towards him moving her hips seductively as she walked. She looked like a supermodel. As she approached Emmett she put a hand on his chest and then walked around him dragging her hand lightly behind her. As she came to a stop in front of Emmett again she ran her hands down his chest to his stomach and the back up to his shoulders. Without warning she hiked her leg up to his waist, Emmett instinctively caught her leg and held it to him. Her hand shot out behind his neck and pulled his head towards hers. She paused as their lips were a half inch apart. She smiled happily and unwrapped herself from Emmett kissing him on the tip of the nose lovingly and she turned and headed towards me again.

The male's eyes were practically bulging and the female looked just as incredulous. Rose smirked happily, she had them just where she wanted them.

"Okay so now the little lessons over with, I'm taking my husband home, any objections?" she asked sweetly and walked towards them. The male stepped away from the car pulled the female with him. I walked behind Rosalie and headed towards the car. In a split second decision, the female bolted toward me but I saw it seconds before it happened and stepped away from where she would land. She fell to the floor missing her target. Rosalie wound the window down in the car and watched the scene looking entirely bemused.

Emmett and Jasper closed in on the male keeping him away from the fight that was ensuing between me and the female. She continued to dive towards me and I continued to side step. It was actually quite entertaining.

"Doesn't take a hint does she." Rosalie's bored voice came from the car.

"Doesn't seem that way." I moved again as the female crashed into the wall.

"Well I'm bored can you hurry?" Rosalie asked as she turned on the radio. I rolled my eyes and looked at the female who was crouching ready to pounce.

She bounded forward towards me and I stepped away again but this time I jumped on her back and took her down, she landed face down in the street, my teeth were at her neck. I wanted to make it look like her head would be the first thing I took.

"You are never going to win this." I whispered into her ear. "I can kill you, or you can walk away and leave us alone. And I'm warning you now. You see this car in this city again, walk away. There is no need for this, we're here to have fun not fight. Do you understand me?"

The female nodded quickly.

I stood up and moved away from the female and held my hand out for Jasper giving him a smile. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he took my hand. I looked directly at the male who looked stunned.

"Have a good night." I said in the most sing song voice I could muster.

He nodded once and headed towards the female. I was hoping that this would give us a little more freedom in this city, we didn't want to live here, or feed here. We wanted to have fun. I got in the car and pulled the door closed.

"Alice, you looked positively ferocious when you jumped on her like that." said Rosalie proudly. "Looks like we get to play here again."

Rose started the purring engine and looked out of her still open window, the female was getting up from the ground and the male was trying to help her. "It's been fun!" she called out the window as she hit the gas and the car squealed away from the parking spot.

* * *

**A/N: Thought it was some time for some fun, they can't always be perfect vampires :)**

**Who knew Rose could be so much fun?**

**Hope you enjoyed.**

**As always a link to the playlist player can be found on my profile. As well as Rose and Alice's dresses. It's fun finding mood music to go with the gangs adventures. Mmmm 'kay laters. :o)**


	13. Chapter 12 The Beauty of Silence

_All Things Twilight belong to the Fantastic Stephenie Meyer - 69 Day's till Breaking Dawn!!_

_Songs For Thought:_

_Citizen Erased - Muse, Feeling Good - Muse, Stare - Marjorie Fair._

* * *

**Chapter Twelve - The Beauty of Silence.**

The ride home was quiet but comfortably so. Rosalie was happy, she'd had fun and we were feeling more like a family than any of us had since leaving Forks. We'd made it back to Biloxi before the sun had begun to rear it's head.

We were trapped in the Casino for another week and a half before we were graced with bad weather again. Rosalie and I had gone to my grave after I had shown her the pictures and explained about Angel. She was amazed to see the similarities between the two of us. She knew she still had some living relatives because of her brothers but she had never investigated it further because it was too painful for her. They had what she'd always wanted, a family. As much as she loved Emmett her yearning for a child sometimes put her in a baleful mood and she would disappear for days on end. Emmett would be the only one who could talk to her.

Rose and I had played down in the Casino's some more, she liked me to play roulette and she often played with me. We could get an entire Casino involved in the game, once the winning streak would start, the bets would all be on the same as I had picked. If it got to be too much I would sometimes lose and give the Casino a nice little pay off.

The four of us would play on the beach in the early evening when a small amount of light played on the horizon. Rosalie hated getting her hair wet in salt water but Emmett took great delight in throwing her as far as he could into the water. She would feign anger and the plot Emmett's demise. We had, on occasion, successfully executed her plans, he would never see it coming.

I was biding my time until I could get to the library, I was sure whatever was in there wouldn't really change all that much, but I knew that it would complete the story and fill in more of the holes. I called Angel a couple of times and she walked me through some of the things she'd found out through her research.

My death seemed to be a mystery, no one was sure what had happened and the staff had been despondent about the facts surround the fire and my death. Angel had told me that it was my sister Cynthia that had changed the date on my tombstone to the one of my admission date to the hospital, it was because she blamed them for my death. She hated the fact that our parents had put me in there in the first place, she had visited me a couple of times whilst had been in there and she had noticed that I had become almost catatonic. This was apparently difficult for her because our relationship had been so full and playful. We were sisters in the truest sense. She had looked up to me. This was hard for me to hear because while she was suffering, I went on with life as a vampire and found a family that I truly loved and respected, and a man I providentially shared my soul with.

Jasper, who had been seated by my side during the entire conversation would rub my back in a gentle and supportive manner. He had been my strength through the entire experience and I wouldn't have known what to do without him. He was so perfect in so many ways I was glad I waited for him as long as I did, because I appreciated him so much more for it.

Rosalie was almost as happy as I was when we were graced with the rainstorm, it was going to be a full day of clouded cover and heavy rain. She wasn't so keen on the rain but she would be out in the day lit hours so she would take it gracefully and go sightseeing. Being a socialite in New York during her human life and living in more overcast areas as a vampire hadn't afforded her a chance to travel to the south. I don't think she'd ever really considered it before. She seemed to be enjoying it.

I was headed to the library, I wanted to find the microfiche's that Angel had told me about, I was hoping to fill in some of the holes that were in my history. We arrived in a break in the storm, the smell of wet soil greeted us, the library was an older building that had lost some of it's magnificence due to hurricanes and time, but it was still a welcome site. Jasper and I headed towards the department we needed, Angel had given me the dates and the file numbers I needed so a large amount of searching wouldn't be required, although I was hoping to do some scanning to see if anyone had noticed that a member of the hospital staff had been missing.

Jasper and I worked as a team, he would find what I needed and I looked through them. I found my parents engagement, my birth, my death, Cynthia's birth and death and Cynthia's engagement.

It was obvious without looking too deeply that my parents hadn't been a part of the social circles in Biloxi. Any social or charity events held no mention of their name. It was strange to know that they were just normal people living a normal life, when all I could remember of mine had been so different.

All of the information I found around my death was vague. No one could be sure what happened. It reported that there had been a small contained fire in the solitary ward, three cells had been burned and the occupants had not escaped. No bodies were found due to the intensity of the fire. It seemed that the hospital had rebuilt this within a year of the occurrence. There had been a little investigation about how a fire could break out in an area of the hospital where the patients had no personal items and had only a bed in the cells, they eventually put it down to an electrical fault.

There were still no definitive answers, which I had expected, but I was still a little disappointed. The only thing that really caught my attention was the fact that there was a third room in the hospital that had been destroyed by the fire. It didn't say whether or not it had been inhabited.

New thought patterns began running through my mind, the what ifs were too numerous to count but I couldn't help the most predominant of these surfacing, I used Jasper as a sounding board.

He'd been searching for something regarding my parents, but that was no longer my main concern.

"Jasper, do you see this?" I asked. I had pulled up the fire article once again and I had zoomed into the paragraph containing the three rooms.

"The fire?"

I was beginning to think I was looking too much into it, but I had to say what was on my mind. "No, the three cells, only three room were decimated in that fire, but why only three rooms? It says here that there were ten rooms in the solitary wing."

"Hmm. Does it say whether or not anyone was in there?"

"Nope."

"What time was the fire started?"

"Well, it say in the reports that the first sign of smoke was at, three am. Which means, I'm sure, that it was between rounds and there was no one about."

"So you're think that maybe, the third cell was the vampire that saved you?"

"It's an option."

"But why would he be in there?"

"I thought about that and the only conclusion I could come to is that maybe he was like Carlisle. Maybe he didn't want to drink human blood, but he couldn't fight the temptation. So he commits himself into an asylum where he's locked in a room." I said thinking of the chances this could in fact be right. If it was, in fact, what happened, it would mean my creator would be traceable.

"Wouldn't it be harder around so many humans?" he paused seeing the disappointment on my face. "Alice, I understand that you want to find out who helped you all those years ago but I honestly can't say that I would think being locked away would help someone abstain from feeding from humans, especially without access to a food source."

I thought about it and realized he was right. The thirst would drive any vampire insane. I nodded and stared at my hands, I had, for a second, had hope. Jasper kneeled before me and lifted my chin gently with his fingers so he could look into my eyes. As much as I wanted it to be true I knew that I'd told Jasper this because of his impeccable honesty. I knew that he would be honest and tell me if I was reaching too far. but I had held onto that hope with such ferocity that it hurt a little bit when I agreed his conclusion.

"Alice, I know this is something you need to know, but I think you'd be disappointed if it was any easier." he laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. "What kind of vampire would he be if he left a trail?"

I laughed and leaned forward resting my head on his shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head. He knew that this whole day in the library had been difficult for me. I knew he could feel it. I knew he was right. James had said that the vampire had been older. He would know the rules and abide by them and would never leave a trace of himself for humans or vampires to follow. I just had to accept I would never be able to find him, I would never know the name of my savior.

Jasper and I cleaned up the files we had taken out and made copies of anything we thought would be of interest to Esme or Carlisle. Esme enjoyed keeping this kind of information. She'd once told me it was like a baby book for her grown children. She had some of everyone's history. Except mine and Jasper's. Jasper's went back a little farther than most and he knew where to find the information, he just felt no need for it. He didn't want any reminders of his human life. He'd once told me that his true life had began when he met me. That had taken my breath away, he always knew the right things to say.

There really wasn't anymore information I could get to here in Biloxi, so after the trip to the library I had decided it was time to go home. We'd been gone for a long time and I knew that Esme would be getting anxious. Her voice would pick up every time I would call, I had kept to my word and called her every night and I knew she appreciated it even without her telling me.

Before we left I had a meeting with Angel, I had promised to keep in touch with her, and she'd brought me some copies of pictures she had of me that had been passed down to her from her Great Grandmother, Cynthia. She remarked more than once, my similarity to Mary Alice. I had shrugged it off. In the pictures, I'd had long flowing hair. Cynthia had told me that they'd removed most of it when I'd been admitted to the hospital. That would explain the short spiked cut I had, it had obviously been growing out when I'd been changed.

It was easier than I'd thought it would be to say goodbye to my old life, Biloxi held my past and I wanted my future. The trip had filled in empty holes but it had never made me regret any of my life. Jasper was my life, the reason for my existence. How could I regret that, I couldn't and I never would.

We'd promised Emmett another stop in Gatlinburg on the way home. His history had never really interested him, but the pull of the bears was too much, he wanted to hunt and the large area of wilderness that surrounded Gatlinburg was too tempting to turn down.

Taking the same route that we did on the way to Biloxi, we stopped in Gatlinburg again. Rosalie was amazed at the beauty and she was lost for words. Emmett was ready to hunt. He'd lived here for most of his human life and had grown acquired to the beauty. His only comment had been on how much more developed the town had become as we passed through it.

The freedom of the wilderness kept us hunting for hours, Emmett like playing with his food so his boisterous laughter could be heard throughout the day. We were far enough from the trails that no one would hear but it didn't stop Rosalie from reprimanding him. I continued with my favorite food source. Deer had always been my preference, it was unusual because the larger game was closer to the source our bodies naturally craved, but Carlisle had always put it down to my size. I was small so the smaller animals seemed to be more appetizing to me.

I also enjoyed the running that came along with the deer, bears were cumbersome compared to the grace and elegance of the deer. It was an easy kill but more often than not I would run with the deer until my instincts took over.

Jasper took to hunting with Emmett this time. The bears had satiated his thirst the last time we had been through here, it was the same this time, he filled himself to the brink and sat under a tree relaxing as he waited for the rest of us to fulfill our thirsts. I was the first to join him. I laid next to him and snuggled into his side. It was so peaceful and serene. No human would dare to wander this far off the path so we had the place to ourselves.

I felt satisfied, I finally knew who I was and where I came from. I was also content with the life I had now. I had a good family and I had the love of my eternity by my side. The only thing that still bothered me was Edward's suffering. I checked on him often since the time I called him. I was worried that his agony would cause him to neglect himself, he still hadn't realized that Bella was his life force, his reason for living, but I had promised Carlisle that I wouldn't push him, that I would let him find his own way and make his own decisions.

I had once asked Jasper about the emotions he had picked up from Edward when he arrived in Ithaca, but he refused to talk about it, he'd told me that it was one of the most painful emotions he'd ever experienced. I knew that it was hard for him to even think about it, the pain etched around his eyes at the mention of it. This made me all the more concerned for Edward. I knew how stubborn he was.

Edward was still tracking Victoria, he wasn't great at it but he was still hot on her trail. She was heading north now, back into the States, she would cross over in Texas. I knew that visiting him whilst he was so close was not an option. Jasper refused to go anywhere near Texas, and I couldn't blame him. His past hadn't been happy there, it was where he was changed and where he'd spent his human life in the military, I couldn't and wouldn't expect him to go to ease my worry about Edward.

The rest of my vision was filled with the overjoy of Esme at our homecoming. She knew we were on the way and was trying her hardest not to make a decision on how to celebrate. She knew I would see anything she had planned. I wouldn't have spoiled her fun though, I would keep my mouth shut and be just as surprised as the others. She had such a big heart, even though it no longer beat in her chest. Her love for us, her children, and Carlisle, was her driving force. It's what she did best. She was exceptionally good at it.

Rosalie joined us next, she was full from her hunt and looked content. She actually dropped down onto the ground next to us and laid her head on my stomach. She was never really one for affection but it seemed she was trying her hardest so I smiled and let it go, she was trying to be a friend to me and I appreciated her efforts.

Being the biggest in our group Emmett hunted for another two hours. Rosalie was becoming impatient and threatening to leave without him when he finally appeared.

"What the hell took you so long, Emmett?" Rosalie asked in a bored tone.

"Miss me?" Emmett asked smiling happily. Rosalie couldn't resist smiling at that. As combative as she could be, she could never resist a smile from her husband. It was cute and pathetic all at the same time. Unfortunately, he had the resolve of a mouse against her so she would win any disagreement they had. This did nothing for her tenacity.

We stayed a little longer, we wanted to soak up as much of the natural beauty as we could. I lay in Jasper's arms not having to say a word, he knew me better than I knew myself at times, and laying in silence in his embrace was how I wanted to spend eternity. He was my sun, my moon and my stars. I would never need anything as long as I had him. I knew he felt the same way, we had a connection between us, we could talk without saying a thing. We knew each other so well, and we had an eternity together to learn anything more.

As the sky lightened and the animals around us began their chattering we knew we had to leave. It had been a wonderful experience and I hoped that each of us would carry it with us. I hoped to return to this place when we could be together as a true family. I knew it would happen eventually, I just didn't know when. I would hold that in my heart and draw strength from it until we were complete. We had to get back to reality. Time waited for no man, and Esme was becoming impatient.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this Chapter. It seemed to come a little easier than the rest. Alice seems to come into her own. Rosalie's kinda nice too! I know it's different :)**

**Big hugs to my awesome fantastical Reviewers. . . YOU ROCK more than you know :)**

**Link to play list is on my profile.**


	14. Chapter 13 Homecoming

_All of the wonderful Twilightness belongs to Stephenie Meyer _

**_Songs for Thought:_**

_Home - Daughtry, Home - Foo Fighters, Inertia Creeps - Massive Attack_

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**Chapter Thirteen - Homecoming**

We finally arrived in Ithaca as the afternoon sun descended from the sky. Rosalie had intentionally been driving slower than her normal bat out of hell velocity. I knew she was putting off the inevitable. As much as she wanted to be home and see Esme and Carlisle I knew that she was hesitant about the absence of our other brother. I knew this because it was playing in the back of my mind.

It was a feeling of complete hopelessness, and no matter how much Rosalie and Edward butted heads they were still brother and sister and had a love for one another. It was going to be difficult. Even more so when he eventually came home, his pain would be more evident and he would be a shadow of his former self and this concerned us. I believe even at this point Rosalie was ready to convince him to return and be with Bella. As much as she was against a human being a part of the family, she loved her brother enough to know that it would be the only thing to ease his heart.

Esme and Carlisle waited for us on the porch of the house, it was expected. Esme didn't hide the fact that she had missed us and we weren't about to hide the fact that we had missed her, our mother.

The reunion was joyful, each hug became tighter and I believe that if Esme could have cried she would have. Her children had returned and she would make sure to let each and every one of us know exactly just how much she loved us. She was excited at the gifts that Rosalie showered her with, it seemed that Rosalie and Emmett had done quite a lot of shopping whilst in Europe. I was hoping it would make her more willing to shop with me now that she'd acquired a taste for it.

After the initial greeting, came the questions. She asked me about the entire time we were away, it had been over eight weeks since we left so there was a lot to catch up on. I showed her the pictures of me that Angel had supplied before we left, her emotions were overwhelming and Jasper felt the need to hold me close, I knew that it was a reflection of Esme's emotions.

We supplied Carlisle with the medical files and he had taken to studying them, sounds of complete disgust could be heard from the corner he was sat in and I knew that he felt the same way that Jasper had on the first reading. Then I brought out the pictures of Angel. It was a shock to both Esme and Carlisle to see the similarities between us, it was something that they hadn't been prepared for.

We spoke well into the night and every detail was gone through, Esme was happy that she now had a history for me in her little baby book. Something as silly as that, had me beaming with pride, and I realized that my hunt for the truth was over. I didn't need to know anymore, I didn't need to keep hunting. I had my family and that was all that was important. Saying goodbye to my past had made me focused on the future. I would stay in touch with Angel, we had exchanged email addresses and I had given her my cell phone number. She had promised to update me on any new information that she found but I was just happy to have her in my life. I knew that the past was something I couldn't change and it had brought me to where I am.

Rosalie, of course had to mention the trip to New Orleans. Carlisle and Esme were not impressed that we had taken to playing with the locals, they thought we'd been taunting them unnecessarily. I stepped in and explained that we'd gone for the sole purpose of dancing and we had no intention of confrontation, but it had come about regardless and the whole mess had been unavoidable. This seemed to placate them. Rosalie and Emmett had giggled because I was the only one in the group that had gotten anywhere close to a fight.

Then we pulled out the pictures from Gatlinburg and we spent hours discussing the hunting and the serenity of the forests surrounding Emmett's home. The fulfillment of the hunt and the relaxation of the silent forest as we let our feasts settle.

Then the inevitable came, Esme asked me about Edward. I knew that she would and I had to be honest with her because she was so worried. He was their first son, she worried about him endlessly, she knew that Bella had been the most joyful thing in his life, and like us she knew he was being stubborn in his actions. She knew as well as we did that he couldn't live without her. Just like I could never survive without Jasper. Once we found our mate, there was no turning back, there was no distractions, every thought and action was in regards to them and nothing in an eternity would change that. We loved for an eternity.

I explained how I'd spoken to him, how I'd seen him and how I'd check on him regularly. She seemed disappointed. He hadn't called since he left and I knew how much that hurt her, I also knew that she understood the pain he was feeling and I could only hold her in my arms as she voiced her concerns.

He was on a plane heading back to South America, he'd lost Victoria's trail in Texas. I knew how frustrated he was but he seemed like he'd hunted, he had some color and his eyes were the light honey color that they should be after a good hunt and the dark circle under his eyes were faded. I checked ahead of schedule to give Esme a piece of mind. It didn't help as much as I hoped it would but it satisfied her curiosity.

Things went back to normal quickly, with Christmas rapidly approaching there was plenty of shopping to do, shopping that got more difficult every year. . . What do you buy for someone who has everything? I had absolutely no idea, but I knew it was going to be time consuming and fun to find out.

Jasper finally started at Cornell, he had missed quite a bit but it was easy for him to catch up because he threw himself into it with an astounding vigor, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't sleep.

Esme was still working on the house, it seemed that she was dragging it out as long as she possibly could to keep herself busy. Emmett and Rosalie spent most of their time hidden in their room, it seemed they had found a new appreciation for one another and were wasting no time. I kept my thoughts as far away from them as possible, I didn't want to see any decisions they made while they barricaded themselves in their love nest.

I spent most of my time shopping, it's what I did best and it relaxed me, I unfortunately found myself picking out things that would look great on Bella, it had become a terrible habit of mine. One that, it seemed, I couldn't break. I would pass over these items and fight with my urge to check on her. I promised myself four months and I knew I needed to wait, pain of her loss was evident and she would need that time to come back into herself. I had to believe that she would get better otherwise I would drive myself crazy. There was only two more months to wait.

The Christmas season always brought a tranquility with it, the humans would become frenzied in their shopping habits and I felt normal. The season brought a happiness, people seemed happy and excited, there was so much love and light as they decided what they would get for the people that meant the most to them. It was a joy to watch as they pondered over the best gift that they could get for that special person.

The decorations were bright and extravagant, the snow brought the children out to play. Snowmen littered the yards and snowball fights were astounding. It brought back the memories of Edward, the last snowball fight we'd had was in Forks. The memories were painful. I hoped that it would get better and I found myself checking the future less, I wanted the optimism people had when they didn't know what would happen. It made things easier. It made the future seem more positive.

Esme was beginning to get in the spirit of Christmas, she decorated the house and the yard with the tradition Christmas decorations, she enjoyed the season and it also helped us fit in a little more. It also brightened the mood around the house. Esme had hoped that the season would bring Edward home, but there was no new information from him, I continued to check weekly. He hadn't been able to catch up with Victoria again and it was beginning to worry him a little.

Angel had called and invited me to a Christmas party with her family, she had told them about me and were interested in meeting me, I had emailed her the pictures from our first meeting and she had explained that the whole family was intrigued. I politely declined and explained that my family were expecting me for Christmas. She seemed a little disappointed but she understood.

Spirits soared on Christmas eve, Edward called to wish us all a merry Christmas and apologized for his absence. It had been a nice long conversation as each of us took a turn to speak with him. He sounded unhappy but he made an effort to sound upbeat as he spoke with each of us. I didn't push anything with him or make any reference to our time in Forks, I knew it would push him away and cause him to end the conversation all too quickly. I tried, instead to tempt him to come home.

"Edward?" I asked as I picked up the phone, Emmett had handed me.

"Hey, Alice, Merry Christmas."

"Same to you, how is everything going?"

"Well as can be expected, I'm sure you already know I lost Victoria's trail, any clues for me?"

"No I haven't really seen anything in weeks."

"That's alright, I'll figure it out." he said trying to keep the hope in his voice.

"You coming home anytime soon?" I asked, I missed him but I knew that Esme was almost pining for him.

"I can't promise anything, Alice."

"Well, your present is here waiting for you." I said trying to distract him from sadness that filled his voice.

He laughed into the phone. "Typical, Alice, you never could resist shopping at Christmas."

"I can never resist shopping."

This comment received another laugh from Edward, I could tell it wasn't a genuine happy laugh, it was empty and hollow, but it was the best I could have hoped for at this point. It was another emotion.

"Well, Jasper wants to talk to you so I'm going to say Merry Christmas and I love you Edward."

"I love you too, Alice. Look after everyone for me."

"Edward,"

"Yeah?"

"Please look after yourself."

There was a pause at the end of the line. "I will, Alice."

"Promise me." I said stubbornly.

"I promise."

"Merry Christmas."

"Bye, Alice."

I handed the phone to Jasper and headed towards Esme. I leaned my head on her shoulder, she seemed so relaxed now that she'd heard Edwards voice. I was glad t hat is appeased her, but I only felt utterly hopeless, I could hear the sadness in his voice and I knew how much he was hurting. It was a feeling I couldn't shift.

Carlisle lit a fire in the main room and we sat together at midnight opening presents. Rosalie and Emmett had gone above and beyond what I had expected, she'd ordered the entire Gucci spring collection for me. I was amazed, it was all beautiful and fit perfectly. I had no idea how she pulled it off but it was a wonderful surprise. Esme and Carlisle had bought me tickets to the New York fashion week and tickets and plane tickets to the Fashion weeks in Paris and Milan. I was floored. It was such a generous gift and so well thought out, I had an emotional moment.

Jasper I knew had struggled he always thought so much about my gifts that he would drive himself to distraction. This year had been a perfect opportunity for him to surprise me because I had taken a vow of optimism, except where Edward was concerned.

I knew that he'd put a lot of thought into it, I opened the box and found what had him so proud. At first I was confused and then I realized what it was. Jasper had contacted Phillipe, and had spoken to him about me designing a something for his collection that would be shown in the New York fashion week. In the box was a letter from Phillipe inviting me to design something for his Spring collection. I was speechless.

Jasper had known about this secret little desire of mine and I was sure that he had been biding his time until he could surprise me with it. I threw my arms around his neck and showered his face with kisses, I couldn't help myself it was one of the most thoughtful presents I had ever received. He then handed me a sketch pad. I had until the middle of January to submit four sketches for approval. I was ecstatic.

The gifts I had bought seemed to go over well, but shop-a-holic-ism seemed to have over done it again, it took each of them three hours to unwrap the gifts I had given them and that was a full speed. It was all in all a successful Christmas, we spent time with one another and laughed as we recalled the history of the last fifty or so years worth of Christmas'.

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**A/N:** _shorter than most and probably seemed like a filler, I wanted to get a feel for the family aspect of them, before they met Bella they were a family unit and I want to emphasize that point and show the effect it had on them not having Edward around._

_Now it's on to fashion week, which is where I hope you will understand where I'm going with this fashion thing. It probably won't be a huge chapter:)._

So I hope you enjoy. As Always my reviews are fantastic, I can't thank them enough for their kind words and introspect. It really means a lot to me and as ALWAYS YOU ROCK HARDCORE!! Big hugs.

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	15. Chapter 14 Fashion Week

_Surprise, Two Chapters in a day, I do spoil you don't I :)_

_The Twilight universe belongs to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer, 68 Days till Breaking Dawn yay!_

**_Songs for thought:_**

_Was it a Dream? - 30 Seconds to Mars, Shut Your Eyes - Snow Patrol, Will I - Ian Van Dahl, We're Alive - Ian Van Dahl & DJ Micro_

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**Chapter Fourteen - Fashion Week**

I didn't have long to design my masterpiece before I had to submit it to Phillipe, he was in New York preparing for fashion week that was usually held in the first week of February. So I was able to sketch out the four things that were the most prominent in my mind.

I had two dresses, a pant suit and a wedding dress, I wasn't sure which he would go for but I knew which I wanted to be made, as ridiculous as it sounded. Armed with my sketch pad and swatches I headed off to New York city.

Phillipe was happy as always to see me and he scolded me for not sharing my desire for design to him. He had always been so kind to me and I knew that he would be willing to help me with practically anything I asked, I just never thought to ask him about this.

Rosalie had insisted on joining me, Phillipe had fast become one of her favorite designers and I knew I would never get close to him without Rosalie's insistence on joining me.

I was finally able to sit down and go through my designs with him. Rosalie was invited to pick some merchandise out of his fall collection that he had brought as a gift for the models. Rosalie disappeared in a shot.

"You do realize that she will take everything if you'll let her."I smiled gratefully, "Living in cold climates unfortunately doesn't grant us the luxury of the lighter fashions of spring."

"Ah, Alice." he smiled happily, his warm French accent washing over me. "You and your sister can 'ave everything in there, they were built for the two of you anyway, but using them as a gift for the models make for a wonderful excuse to my accountant."

I laughed happily, I should of known that his kind nature would have extended to us. He was always so generous when it came to the Cullen women.

"So, Alice, what do you 'ave for me?" he asked holding out a hand for the sketches I was practically clinging to in my nervousness, I knew that he would be gracious even if they were terrible and that was what I feared. That he would agree to something he didn't like. I handed them to him timidly. He took them gently and smiled at me with reassurance.

"Alice, you 'ave impeccable taste, I 'ave no doubt these will be perfect."

"Thank you Phillipe, you flatter me." I said and waited for his opinion.

He spent a while looking at each of the sketches that had swatches attached to them. I knew that I had been meticulous in my decisions, I just hoped it would be enough.

We sat in silence as he tilted his head from side to side and ran his fingers along the lines of the sketch. I was beginning to get nervous, when he finally spoke.

"Okay, Alice. I 'ave made a decision. I 'ave never done a wedding dress and I would like to add yours to my collection, I will give you full credit as a guest designer of course. I would like you to be here when the fittings are done so you can check the final details."

I smiled and sat back in my seat, I couldn't have been happier, it was what I had wanted to be made, it was what I had put most of my effort into. I diverted for the first time from my optimism and checked to see what the dress would look like and it was perfect. But I had a question.

"Phillipe?"

"Yes?"

"Could I pick the model?"

"Why of course, Alice. We are 'aving a session next week to pick them out. The bare essentials for your dress should be ready by then so it should work out perfectly. What size were you looking at?"

"A size two, there is a reason for it. Obviously not for me but, I was hoping I could maybe keep the dress after it's been shown."

"Of course, Alice. I feel that you 'ave something up your sleeve."

"I have a shred of hope, for something I would like to happen, but this is just a maybe."

"Well whoever it is, they will be very luck to 'ave this exquisite original masterpiece."

"Thank you Phillipe, truly, for everything."

"Thank you, for sharing your talent." He stood up and I joined him, I would have to go and rope Rosalie in, but not before I raided the fall collection too. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek lightly. "Go and join your sister, and I shall see you in a week."

I disappeared in the direction of Rosalie and found her in a section that was dedicated to skinny pants, I should have known really.

We made out like bandits and came home with almost entirely new closets, we were giggling like school girls and nothing could put a dampener on the mood we were in.

When we got home Rosalie gave Jasper a big hug and fled to her room with her bags of goodies. Jasper stood awestruck in her wake and looked at me alarmed, it sent me into another fit of giggles.

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, the giggles subsided as the wave of calm flowed over me. I lay my head on his shoulder and he kissed the top of my head gently.

"Would you line to explain?" he asked, I could hear the smile in his voice.

"About what, Rose or the giggles?"

"Both."

"Well, Rosalie is happy because your gift to me has given her a new wardrobe, she's over the moon because she will be the most fashionable person in Denali when we go for our vacation. The giggles were a combination of free shopping and the look on your face when Rosalie hugged you. It was quite a picture."

"I'm sure it was, I had expected a hug from you but our sister isn't usually so. . ."

"Affectionate." I finished for him.

"Well, in a word, exactly."

I started giggling again and pulled Jasper closer. I was amazed that I was getting something I really wanted and it was strange because I was sure it was my optimism speaking, and I was starting to like it. I knew that Jasper could feel my excitement but I was sure he was putting it down to the design, he was right in a way. I would never tell anyone what I had done, until it happened. I knew that there was a chance someone would pick up on what I had done, but I would deal with hurdle when it came to it.

"So are you going to tell me what happened or do I have to guess?" Jasper asked into my hair.

"He picked one of my designs, he seemed excited about it, in fact I think he called it exquisite." I said proudly. I'd work hard on each of the designs and Jasper had supported me through every step. He picked me up into his arms and I started laughing again, I knew my excitement was infectious to him and I was happy for it. He'd spent so much effort into his studying he was ahead of every student in the course and he'd entered late. I was so proud of him.

He spun me around gently and then headed for the stairs, he was taking me to our room to celebrate. I wasn't going to deny him.

When Rosalie insisted on coming with me to the fitting I was worried that she would figure out what I was doing, the model Phillipe had picked out for me was a size two like I had requested and she was gorgeous. Her curves held the base of the design well and I knew that the finished product would look phenomenal on her. I watched Phillipe work as he made my design into a realization. I couldn't contain myself it was shaping up beautifully.

Rose was astounded, she'd been over my drawings consistently and she had loved all of the designs I had come up with but the process was as astounding to her as it was to me. Phillipe had hands like a magician, the fabric seemed to move willingly for him as he pinned and primped. The dress was coming to life before our eyes. I could have watched him all day but he shooed us away and sent Rosalie into ecstatic giggles when he explained that he'd thrown together some of his Spring collection for us during the past week. I was amazed, we were getting the clothes before their debut. He was too much, but we weren't complaining and he knew that we sent a lot of business his way.

Rosalie and I always got compliments on our wardrobes, it didn't matter where we were we would always attribute out style and grace to Phillipe. It seemed to work for all of us.

Carlisle and Esme had bought tickets for everyone else seeing as I had a design being shown, it made me nervous because out of our entire family Esme was the most perceptive, I knew that she would suspect something, I shrugged it off but it still worried me because I didn't want to offend her or raise unnecessary questions. I was sure I was being paranoid.

The next week and a half flew by and the show crept nearer and nearer until I was stood backstage and feeling nervous as all hell. Phillipe had kept the final details of the dress from me because he wanted to surprise me, he told me that he had another surprise but that it had to wait until the day of the show. So there I was, stood backstage, confused and scared waiting for my surprise.

The upbeat tempo of his catwalk music sprang to life and I swallowed, I stood back and watched the mayhem that was backstage of a fashion show as it began. I could see Phillipe primping the girls as they lined up to walk out onto the stage. I smiled over the crowd at him and he waved me over. As I approached I stopped dead. He was holding up a small dress that would fit my stature perfectly. I shook my head but Phillipe smiled and nodded.

"No, Phillipe are you insane?" I called as the music pumped through the room.

"No sweetheart, not crazy, smart. I always told you that you were my muse, it's only fitting that you should wear my most favorite design onto the stage."

"Phillipe," I could hear my voice cracking. "I'm a foot shorter than most of these girls, how exactly is that normal?"

"These girls don't 'ave an ounce of your grace, Alice. You 'ave to do this, it's become the main focus of the show. I need you."

I nodded but hesitantly, I knew that this was a bad idea, but I knew Phillipe, and no was not an option. I felt a hand take mine and I looked up into the face of Rosalie, she beamed down at me.

"You knew?" I screeched as she pulled me into a corner to change.

"Of course I did. He was very persistent." she helped me pull the dress over my head and fiddled with my makeup and hair until she was happy with the outcome.

I spun around and heard my name called by the stage director. I shook my head at Phillipe and headed towards the end of the stage. With each beat of the music it seemed another girl ahead of me gracefully pulled out of line and strolled casually onto the catwalk with ferocity that could accentuate any line the dress had. I was after the dress I had designed. I had no idea how this was going to work but as I approached the stage the music stopped and I realized that the model wearing my design and myself were the only two left. My heart sank a little that we hadn't been called, but I was also bursting from anticipation. I knew Phillipe had something up his sleeve.

I was right.

One of my favorite songs started playing and I felt my heart pound, I spun to look at Rosalie who winked and disappeared back into the front so she could sit with our family. I heard Phillipe speak into the microphone.

"I have a surprise for you tonight only, my muse has so kindly agreed to wear my most prized design, she was of course my inspiration, but first I would like to showcase a little design of hers."

The model in front of me strutted out, her long legs and curvaceous body flattered every seam and ornate design on the dress, it would go down in history as one of my prouder moments. The dress had been put together impeccably, I would never know how to thank Phillipe for this opportunity. But my time had run out and Phillipe was now announcing me and the dress I wore and I was being pushed onto the stage by an assistant. My stomach felt like it was in my throat and I walked. The only way I knew how.

I walked with the music as best I could and headed towards the end of the catwalk. I could feel all of the eyes on me and I could see my family smiling at me. The euphoric feeling that I felt building was so intense I could have run to the end of the catwalk and screamed in glee, instead I stopped at the opening of the stage and spun to face the crowd, I then pointed at Phillipe and waited for him to join me on stage. He smiled mischievously and headed toward me. I waited for him patiently smiling, as he approached me I felt every model that had strutted on the catwalk step around us and head towards the end of the runway. All of them were in pairs and clapped happily as the showcased the last thing they'd worn down the runway. As they stepped off of the stage I realized that once again I was alone on stage with Phillipe and the model that wore my creation. Phillipe looped his arm through hers and we all walked down the runway arm in arm. Phillipe stopped and led me and the model to carry on without him. I smiled obliging and the audience erupted.

I turned slowly to applaud Phillipe with the rest of the audience, he'd deserved it, his collection was gorgeous. He smiled happily at me and motioned to me and the wedding dress. The applause rocketed again and I smiled as graciously as I could manage and nodded my head to the audience in acknowledgment of their kindness. I approached Phillipe and looped my arm through his, and we headed off the runway. As we stepped backstage I drew in a long large breath and let it out quickly.

"You did wonderfully, Alice." Phillipe said kissing both of my cheeks in happiness and then was whisked away for his interviews. I stood breathlessly in disbelief. I couldn't believe what had just happened.

The moment arms wrapped around my waist I recognized them as Jasper's and I spun in his grip leaning my head on his strong familiar shoulder. He kissed the top of my head gently and held me not saying a word, like always he knew what I wanted and how to give it to me. I stayed in his embraced as I collected myself. It was all I could do to function.

When I finally stepped back I realized my family was surrounding me each with a look of pride on their faces, I smiled back at each one of them knowing that they had been my strength. Esme was the next to hold me to her, she pulled me into her motherly embrace and kissed my cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Alice, you looked beautiful out there and your dress, was too beautiful for words. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Esme. For being here and being a wonderful mother." I said as I held her. She squeezed me tighter and kissed my temple.

Each of my family members went through the same motions and the backstage area had almost been cleared completely when Phillipe finally approached us again. He handed me the dress in a garment bag with a kiss on each cheek and a demand that I call him the next time I needed something to wear, he also told me to keep the centerpiece of his show, he had a copy for a regular model but he wanted to debut it on the person he made it for. I was once again speechless, I would never be able to repay his kindness. The entire evening had been so overwhelming and I would never forget it, Each of us made our way out to the the car. It was time to go home, and with that my fairytale evening finished, the bell tolled and I went back to my other mythological life.

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**A/N: I know it's a bit fluffy, but I'm sure you've all figured out what Alice was up to. :) I wanted it to be special and I knew that this would be a very special way for it to come about. This places us almost to the middle of February, March it crawling up quicker than I expected. :)**

Thank you Reviewers, big hugs and thanks for your awesome words, YOU ROCK LIKE SUPERSTARS! I hope you all win the lottery :)  
Link to the playlist player is in my profile, Hugs and thanks. . . -L


	16. Chapter 15 Denali

_All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer  
I know, I'm sorry. I skipped a day, and even though I hate to make excuses I found this chapter really hard to write. Tanya and her coven wouldn't speak to me :(_

**_Songs for Thought:_**

_It's Beginning to get to me - Snow Patrol, Offshore - Chicane._

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**Chapter Fifteen - Denali**

Things began getting back to normal and my schedule, once again, began filling with shopping and helping Esme complete the restoration of the house, the whole fashion week debut had begun to feel like a dream. If I could have slept, it's exactly what I'd have thought it was. Jasper had successfully given me one of my most memorable Christmas presents in my history, and I was sure that he would never be able to out do it in an eternity. It was pure luck that he'd waited as long as he did, this was the only time I had ever put my gift on the back burner.

The dress was now stored safely in my closet, and there it would stay until my hope for it was realized, I still had flickers of visions but I knew that they could change in a heartbeat with any decision made. I was overjoyed that my paranoia had been unfounded. No one had realized what the dress had denoted. I was sure that they would eventually figure it out when and if the time came.

Edward hadn't called again since Christmas, he hadn't found Victoria again and I was becoming concerned, something had changed and I'd lost her. I checked for her regularly so I could help Edward, but she was more elusive now. She would rarely do anything premeditated. It was almost as if she knew not to make plans. I put that Idea directly out of my mind, I was becoming paranoid. There was no way she would know about any of us, we'd been so careful to not mention anything concerning our gifts the one night they had been in our company. Carlisle had made sure of that.

Edward seemed to mope more now that he had lost the trail, whenever I checked on him I would find him huddled in the shadows miserable. There were many a time I considered sending Jasper and Emmett to collect him. I was sure he would find this entirely too intrusive so I let it go, for now. If he was still searching when we came home from Denali, I was sending someone to go and get him. Spending so much time brooding over his decision to leave was becoming more difficult to watch and I knew that if he were around us it would be easier to help him through it. There was only one thing that would remove the pain completely and I knew that at this moment in time, he was too stubborn to act on what he so desperately wanted to do.

As our vacation became ever closer, the atmosphere surrounding us as a family became lighter, we enjoyed our trips to visit Tanya and her family. They had so much history surrounding them their stories could keep us entertained for hours. Kate's powers were similar to Edward's but seemed to center more around attraction, she seemed to pick up more romantic thoughts and was able to manipulate them. It was an odd talent and she would often use her gift to confuse us. Jasper had a hard time when she began manipulating people around him because their emotional states would peak.

Eleazar also had a gift, but would rarely use it, he hated the consequences. It did, however, come in useful when Tanya, Irina, and Kate would pursue men to play with. He was able to pluck certain memories from your head. So when the girls had finished with their newest acquisition he would wipe the memories of the coven from the men before sending them back into the world. This was something he had agreed to do to keep them hidden from society. It was easier to exist when no one knew you were there.

Our travel plans were simple, we had to stay on the ground as long as we possibly could before getting on a plane. Jasper, although doing well still found it difficult being around humans for any large amount of time and being trapped in a confined space made it even more difficult. Not to mention that since the incident with Bella he had been pushing himself to the brink to try and strengthen his resolve. He was being more stubborn that I could have ever imagined. So we had decided that we would drive to Seattle and catch a plane from there. The plane ride would be subsequently shorter. I knew that the entire family had some reservations about being so close to Forks but it was something I had asked them to do. It wasn't as if I saw anyone in Seattle and the flight from there to Fairbanks would be easier, so they had agreed.

We began packing the Mercedes and the BMW for our drive. Rosalie had insisted on taking her car, I knew that she and Emmett wanted some privacy so none of us argued. I never really minded riding with Carlisle and Esme, they were always so entertaining. Carlisle liked to sing on car rides and Jasper and I would often test his musical skills by bringing a variety of music. It was always interesting to see Carlisle rapping, he had such a genteel nature that he would edit the words he disliked using. Jasper and I would be in the back seat giggling furiously as Esme shook her head in amazement. I didn't particularly like Rap music but I would keep some for occasions such as these.

The airport in Seattle was busy, it was getting close to Spring break and the college students were heading for sunnier destinations. It was amusing to watch them as they headed straight for the bar after they checked their luggage. Rosalie found the attention of these collegiate men entertaining, and would strut unnecessarily past them to the book store or the restrooms. Emmett chuckled as his wife entertained herself. Jasper could never understand them. As we sat and watched Rosalie make a spectacle of herself Jasper closely watched Emmett.

"I will never understand them." he laughed as he raised his eyebrows. Rosalie had decided she wanted to buy a magazine.

"Why's that?" I asked full well knowing the answer.

"Well, if you took to doing that, and those men were looking at you and talking to you like that, I would lose my temper pretty quickly. But Emmett. . . there is pure lust flowing from him. It's quite disturbing."

I laughed lightly and picked up his hand kissing it. I knew that he would never understand the dynamics of Rosalie and Emmett's relationship, none of us really did. We just accepted them for the anomaly they were. Trying to figure them out would take entirely too much effort and I had a feeling it could be quite disturbing.

"That's why none of us try and figure them out, as long as they're happy."

"I know, but it's times like this when they confuse me the most."

I nodded and raised my eyebrows as Rosalie strutted back from the news stand. She grinned at me and dropped herself gracefully into Emmett's lap.

The plane ride was easier than we thought it would be, it was reasonably empty due to the sun-seekers heading south for the spring ritual. We were sat comfortably in business class trying to fend off the flight staff as they insisted we take champagne and trying to force feed us steak. I was sure this was due to pure boredom. The flight didn't take very long so the only form of entertainment they afforded us was reruns of sitcoms, it wasn't too bad, Jasper and I spent time huddled together in our own little world.

We descended into Fairbanks slowly, the beauty of the landscape hit us as we peered out of the windows, the sun danced on the white horizon as it sank back. We had arrived at Twilight. That was one of the things I loved about Alaska, the days felt so much shorter.

We rented a couple of cars in the airport, once again we left Rosalie and Emmett up to their antics. We rented four wheel drive utility vehicles, Tanya's home was set in the mountains and would be difficult to get to without them. We headed onto the freeway. The cool crisp evening air felt refreshing, the smells were so clean. We had been afforded a fresh blanket of snow and it made the open wilderness around us seem untouched. The pure beauty of Alaska had always appealed to me, there was plenty of wildlife to feed from, and the natural lakes and rivers were beautiful and serene. If there had been a decent mall nearby I would have been content to stay here for an eternity.

Carlisle found the hidden road easily, it was barely visible to our sensitive eyes so the chances of humans finding it really were slim. Tanya sometimes enjoyed company but it was always on her own terms. The male visitors would never find them again and that is if they were lucky enough to walk away with a memory of the women.

The trail led up the mountain and with the narrow trail so close to the edge we took our time, it was beautiful. The tree lines were so precise with the new fallen snow. There was another snow storm coming, I could see it. It would cover our tracks from the main road, but it wouldn't cover the scent of the game that surrounded us. There were fresh tracks all around the trail and I knew that Jasper was getting thirsty because of the circles under his eyes. I really had no idea why he found it necessary to push himself so hard. Especially when he knew we would be in such a confined space on the plane. He had pushed himself so much harder since Bella. I knew he still blamed himself for the move and Edward's pain and as much as I tried to console him he would only get over it with time.

As we ascended further upwards we came to the clearing in front of Tanya's house. It looked breathtaking in the early evening, the contrast between the dark night and the warm glow that was cast from the windows was breathtaking, it could have been a picture for a postcard. The sound of our approaching cars drew the attention of the inhabitants of the house. Tanya was the first to appear.

We got out of the cars slowly and headed towards our welcoming committee. Eleazar stood at the door with his arm around Carmen looking happy at having male company. He was the only male in a house full of females. Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Carlisle took pity on him.

Tanya approached the cars with a beaming smile. It had been a while since we had seen them and she always enjoyed our company.

"Carlisle." She hugged him happily. "It's so good to see all of you."

"Tanya, it's been along time." Carlisle replied as she turned her affection towards Esme.

"Too long, of course we saw Edward a little while ago. he isn't with you?" she asked scanning the group.

I fidgeted uncomfortably and grinned at Jasper, Tanya had an attraction to Edward that was never reciprocated but she had always been quietly persistent. She had always believed he would come around in his own time. It had been a standing joke among us.

"No, not this time. He has a prior engagement he couldn't get out of." Carlisle was always so diplomatic when it came to making excuses for us. It was another one of his parental attributes.

"That's a shame. Well, come on in." Tanya motioned towards the house as she threw an arms around my shoulders. She smiled at me happily as we entered the sinfully warm house.

"How about you, Alice. You look very well. Esme was telling me that you did some research on your history. How did that go?"

"Well, I have a great, great niece who looks astoundingly like me. I brought you some pictures."

"Excellent." she said smiling and handed me off to Kate who threw her arms around my neck happily.

We settled into the rhythm of things quickly. Jasper and Eleazar had gone hunting together, while the rest of us caught up on what we had done since seeing each other last. We avoided the topic of Edward as much as we could but Tanya was persistent. She asked about his 'friend' who had caused him to flee here all those months ago.

Carlisle answered her as honestly as he could and explained that he had become friends with Bella. We all knew how much of an understatement that was, but we kept our mouths shut. It wasn't our story to tell so we would protect it as much as we could.

It was then that I noticed that someone was missing.

"Tanya?" I asked quietly, trying not to draw the attention of the room towards me.

"Yes, Alice?"

"Where is Laurent? I thought he came here to stay with you?"

"Ah, yes." Tanya lowered her voice and her eyes flickered quickly to Irina. "He took a sabbatical, he found our diet. . . difficult."

"Has he gone for good?"

"No he comes and goes. He and Irina have become close so he doesn't wander too far. They're actually very sweet together."

I nodded and smiled letting the subject drop. There was something unusual about all of this. It played in the back of my mind for a while, I couldn't figure out what had me so on edge. There was a nagging thought in the back of my mind but I couldn't put the pieces together. That's when the flashes started.

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**A/N: I know, short, I'm sorry :(**

I will hopefully have another Chapter for you tonight, Maybe I can get the Denali crew to open up for me, who knew they would be so difficult!

I had them drive to Seattle to catch a plane because in New Moon I could never understand how Alice caught a plane but still drove the Mercedes to Bella's house. . . I hope this explains that a little, I used it to fill in a gap I didn't understand lol.

Thank you to my awesome reviewers. . . Sorry I suck at replying to your wonderful reviews. Please know I truly appreciate each and every one of you. YOU GUYS ROCK!


	17. Chapter 16 Visions

_All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_Here it is. . . The Vision. Hope you enjoy it. My heart was pumping lol_

_**Songs for Thought:** Echelon - 30 Seconds to Mars, Sorrow - Flyleaf, Fallen - Sarah McLachlan._

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**Chapter Sixteen - Visions**

All of the visions came in like blurry snapshots, I couldn't get a hold of one of them for long enough, they seemed to disappear quickly. I wasn't even sure who it was I was looking at. The blurriness was problematic.

I spent almost a week trying to decipher what I was seeing and never came to a generalized conclusion. Jasper was beginning to worry about me and as much as I tried to reassure him he wouldn't listen. He insisted I talk to Carlisle about them. I knew what Jasper was worried about, he thought that I was seeing Edward, but as I had tried to explain to him, I had checked on Edward when the flickers died down and he was fine, he was still on the same path as he was before. His decision revolved around finding Victoria, so I knew these little spurts were nothing to do with him.

To ease Jasper's mind I sat down with Carlisle, I knew that he would be as unsure of what was happening as I was, and I knew that the images I had to go on would do nothing to help. I had spent a week trying to pick out small hints as they flew through my mind.

Jasper had even tried with the usual questioning method that he succeeded with when I was struggling to focus, but I had nothing. I recognized nothing and the pictures came with a blur. It was maddening.

Carlisle and I spoke for hours, he listened well but couldn't explain why everything was such a blur. I'd never encountered anything similar, but when I voiced my concerns that I was losing my ability he set my mind at ease.

"Alice, I don't believe your losing your ability. When you look for something else you can see it easily. I would be more inclined towards the fact that something is blocking you. I'm not sure if it's intentional."

"But how?" I asked, this was the third time we'd gone over this particular theory and it still didn't seem to make any sense.

"I wish I had answers for you, Alice."

"Should I try to block them?" I was hoping I could, they kept flickering through my mind consistently but I could push them to the side when I was looking for something else.

"I'm not sure, there could be a chance you would miss something."

"I've gone through people trying to figure out who it is at least, but everyone seems to be clear when I look."

"Everyone?"

"Well in our family, I suppose I should check to see if it's Tanya or Kate, it could even be Irina, I know that she's suffering without Laurent, I think she's worried."

"It would probably be a good idea to check, they could be the cause."

I nodded and concentrated, I saw Tanya, she was hunting. Kate's decisions were flickering, she was trying to decide whether or not to find a man, but she didn't want to offend us, Irina was contemplating looking for Laurent. Eleazar and Carmen were together, I didn't want to go any further into that. I tried to find Laurent, perhaps he was trying to get back to see Irina, but I saw nothing at all of him.

"Nope, nothing." I said defeated. There was one more person I wanted to check but I wasn't sure if I had the strength to do that with this mess flying round in my mind. It was a possibility but I couldn't, not yet.

"Well, Alice, I'm afraid the only thing I can suggest is to wait until they're a little clearer." Carlisle said in disappointment. I knew at this point he was as frustrated as I was. I agreed and left him to his thoughts, there was no need in frustrating everyone with these blurry visions.

I decided to go hunting, I was hoping it would clear my head a little, Jasper insisted on going with me and I was glad about that, it was the second time this week. He was starting to hunt a little more frequently and I could see it in his features, the purple circles that had been worrying me were beginning to fade, and his eyes were now a butterscotch color that I could melt into.

The freedom of the run became more appealing to me as I headed out. There was plenty of food sources close to the house but the crisp air and the stillness of the night gave me a need to run. I took off into the darkness with Jasper at my side. He eyed me curiously as I passed by a group of moose.

"Running for a reason?" Jasper asked picking up my hand.

"Just clearing my head a little." I replied and kissed his hand reassuringly.

He nodded and followed me in silence. I know he could feel my anxiety and frustration but he never brought it up. He was to much of a gentleman.

After running for three hours I decided on a herd of caribou that were grazing peacefully, I could smell some bears close by so I nodded towards Jasper to indicate he should hunt for them. I knew her preferred them. I tried to be as thoughtful as possible, he was appeasing me by hunting with me now, he wanted to help ease my frustration but I wouldn't deny him his preferred source of sustenance.

After satiating my thirst I headed slowly back to the house, I walked at human speed so it would be easier for Jasper to catch up with me. The cool air helped me clear my head for a while, I tried as best I could to ignore the still flashing blurs, they were beginning to ease a little and I was able to not think at all. It was blissful.

Jasper finally caught up with me as the dawn approached, he smiled happily and wrapped his arm around my waist. I knew that he'd noticed the missing anxiety and frustration. The visions had been subdued for almost an hour now and I was relaxed. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder as we walked. It was nice, just the two of us together communicating silently.

We walked the rest of the way to the house, I hadn't realized how far I'd run, it seemed that we were walking for hours and by the time we made it back to the house the sun hung high in the sky. I still hadn't been bothered by the visions again and I was starting to enjoy the calm silence that revolved around me. The house was empty apart from Kate who was still contemplating bringing a man to the house, but with so many vampires present, she couldn't decide. She unfortunately became easily bored which was why her mind revolved so much around the situation. She appeared at the top of the stairs as we sat in one of the comfortable and overstuffed chairs that were situated around the living room. She glided down the stairs with an ease and grace that could only belong to a vampire and sat in the chair opposite us.

"Hey, Kate." I smiled happily.

"Hi, were have you two been?"

"We went hunting." Jasper smiled.

Kate leaned back in the chair she occupied, she looked frustrated and with Jasper fidgeting beside me, I realized that she was, indeed, frustrated.

"Kate, can I give you my honest opinion?"

Kate sat up and eyed me suspiciously. Then nodded.

"Everyone except, Rosalie, Jasper, and myself are planning an extended hunting trip. They'll be gone for at least three days. I think that it would be a good time to bring the. . ." I made little quotations with my fingers. ". . . 'Friend' you've been thinking about to the house."

Kate's frown spread into a large smile. She jumped from her seat and threw her arms around my neck.

"I love your gift, Alice. Thank you."

I smiled and watched as she disappeared to make preparations. I looked at Jasper and grinned.

"Do I even want to know?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

I shook my head and smiled again. We would have to be sure to give Kate's room wide berth tomorrow. I'm sure it wasn't something Jasper wanted to experience and I wasn't so sure I wanted to see or hear any of it.

"I'm sure Rosalie will appreciate it." he said laughing and I knew I would have to warn her.

"Well, this is their house, I feel terrible that they have to change the things they do because we're here." I said defensively.

"I know, I'm teasing you. But I hope you'll understand that I really don't want to be around for that. You remember the last time that happened?"

I smiled to myself, I remembered all too well what happened the last time that Kate had brought someone home whilst we'd been here. Kate had decided that we should have a little fun too, and she'd sent Jasper a particularly large amount of lust and passion, and then let him loose on me. It had been a highly memorable experience, for both of us. I wasn't sure what the look on my face was or the emotions I was giving off but Jasper smiled mischievously and shook his head.

The hunting party left early the next morning, Rosalie had stayed behind because she hated spending so much time out in the wilderness. Three days was a little too much for her, her record was five consecutive days but we'd learnt, from Emmett, that she'd found a secluded motel where she'd happily showered and pampered herself frequently. Therefore, it didn't count.

I'd warned her of Kate's plan, she hadn't been happy about it at first because she knew how powerful Kate's skill was, but she'd agreed to hunt with us for the afternoon to give Kate her privacy. We knew that a human couldn't handle her eagerness without constant breaks so we would be safe to come home in a couple of hours.

We left when Kate arrived with her conquest, we hadn't stopped to say hello, we wanted to get as much distance as we could between ourselves and the house. Tanya has disallowed Kate to bring home 'friends' whilst they had guests, so she was breaking the rules, but we had been sworn to secrecy and her friend would be gone long before anyone else got home.

We were deep in the forrest when the visions started again. They were a little sharper than before but still made no sense and the longer they continued, the fuzzier they became, I shrunk down to the ground in frustration. Rosalie was the first to say something.

"What's the matter with you?"

I sighed and rested my head in the palms of my hand. "Visions, blurry visions. If I could get a headache I would have one right now."

"Blurry visions? What does that mean?"

"Carlisle thinks someone may be unintentionally blocking her." Jasper answered for me as he crouched next to me and smoothed my hair gently.

"That's weird, any idea who?" Rosalie asked as she looked around for somewhere to sit.

I lifted my head and raised my eyebrows. For someone as smart as Rosalie she could play the dumb card really well.

"Oh right." she said shrugging her shoulders.

We sat in silence for a while as the images slowed in my mind, they were beginning to take longer as they processed and things were becoming a little clearer. There was a little sound coming with them now and I wasn't sure I recognized it at first but as the sound got louder, the images became clearer. It was Bella. She was stood on the edge of a cliff looking over the precipice into the ocean. The wind swept across her and her hair tangled and swept across her face. She took a couple of paces back, the waves were crashing into the rocks beneath her. Her eyes looked happy, she was lost in thought then she ran forward and jumped. A long scream escaped her lungs as she fell closer and closer to the dark and angry water. Her small body disappeared into the darkness, she didn't resurface as I waited, there was no movement and the vision grew blurred once again, it was blurred beyond recognition before it disappeared entirely.

I stood up and ran towards the house, the only words escaping my lips were, 'no, no, no.' I wasn't sure how long I was muttering them when I realized that I was saying anything at all. my mind felt muddled and I couldn't think straight. I knew if I left for Forks now it would make no difference, I couldn't save her, but I knew I could help Charlie, oh Charlie. He would be more devastated than I could possibly imagine. I saw a flash of him briefly. There was a stabbing pain where my still heart lay.

Jasper was the first to catch up with me and he wrapped me in his loving embrace, we slid to a stop. His voice a mere whisper into my hair, he was talking, talking to me, I pulled him closer and let the sobs wash over me, I knew he could feel the devastation as it took control of me. My entire body shook and I could hear Rosalie's approach behind me.

"Alice, what happened?" she demanded now, but I was numb.

Oh Edward. He would never accept this. I let the sadness take control of me, Jasper held me until the violent sobs subsided. Rosalie stood behind me looking concerned. She didn't push me for an answer but I knew that she was growing impatient.

"Alice?" Jasper ran his hand through my hair as he watched me, pain was etched into those butterscotch of his eyes. He felt every pang of pain and guilt that I had flowing through my body.

"Bella." It came out as a whisper that was barely audible. I wasn't sure if they would understand.

But Jasper understood.

"How?"

"She jumped off a cliff." I shivered involuntarily, I was still unsure what to do.

"Physically or Metaphorically?" Rosalie said cruelly.

I span on my heels and headed towards her, Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back to him.

"You cold, callous, bitch." I screamed and fought my way out of Jasper's arms. Rosalie's face wore the shock of my words. I knew that her reaction wasn't meant to come out like that, and I think she honestly believed I would be able to stop Bella from jumping. If I had been in my right frame of mind I would have seen it but I was scared, angry and in complete agony.

"Alice, I. . ." Rosalie started but I cut her off.

"Don't say it Rose." I spat the words at her like they were poisonous. Jasper wrapped his hand in mine and pulled me towards the house.

Rosalie followed behind us slowly, no one had ever spoken to her the way I just had and she was uncertain how to deal with the situation. At the precise moment in time I could have cared less. She never thought before she spoke, she never reaped the consequences of her actions. I'd had enough of her selfishness.

"Alice, please, you can stop her can't you?" Rosalie asked from behind me.

I stopped again and turned to face Rosalie. "Not unless you have a magic spell up your sleeve to get me to Forks in ten minutes."

"Couldn't we call someone?" She was trying to help now and I could feel my abrasive anger sliding into hopelessness.

"I don't know where she is, and none of us have a phone." I realized the stupidity of leaving without our cell phones and I slid to the ground once again in defeat, we had been running for thirty minutes before I had my vision we would never make it back to the house in time.

Rosalie stood helplessly in front of me as Jasper washed wave after wave of calm over me. I had to do something, I stood up and bolted towards the house. I had to be sure that it was true before I told Edward, I had to make sure what I saw was right.

My body was taken over with my panic and I headed as quickly as my feet would carry me. Jasper was at my side every step of the way and Rosalie followed closely behind. I made it into the house and to my room in record time, I started throwing my possessions into my bag, I had no time for my usual methodic packing. Jasper watched me quietly, but I could feel his hesitance.

"What, Jasper?" I asked softly pausing for a brief second to run my hand softly down the side of his face.

"We shouldn't interfere, Alice."

"I have to be sure, you understand that don't you. This will break Edward, I can't afford to be wrong about this. I need to see for myself."

"Alice, you know your visions, they are normally accurate. I have to. . ."

I cut him off, pressing my finger to his lips. "I owe them both to make sure."

Jasper nodded and watched me silently.

As I headed towards the door he stood and pulled me into his arms, he pressed my phone into my palm and kissed me tenderly. "I'll go and find Carlisle and tell him what's happened. Keep your phone on."

I nodded and ran out of the door. The phone was to my ear in a second as I picked up the keys to the rental car and the Mercedes. I'd never been more thankful for Carlisle's preparedness.

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**A/N: There is was, the vision. I hope you enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it. Rosalie had to show her mean side again, it was the only thing that would lead to the call to Edward, I could have her be nice and then call Edward, it would be weird. I am hoping to have another Chapter for you tonight. I have been very bad and writing at work. I know, lol, but after the writers block on the Denali chapter i had to get this out. :D**

**Thanks to my awesome Reviewers, one day maybe I'll be like Oprah and buy you all a car. . . wouldn't that be nice :P YOU GUYS ROCK, BIG HUGZ and THANKS to you ALL. And thanks to those of you who have added me to your story alerts. ttyl**


	18. Chapter 17 Forks

_All things Twilight belong to Awesome Stephenie Meyer_

**_Songs for thought:_**

_Outside - Staind, Crashed - Daughtry, Come Alive - Foo Fighters_

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**Chapter Seventeen - Forks**

I floored the car through the empty roads of Alaska, there were very few people on the road this time of the year, especially after a fresh snowfall, I was on my phone securing my seat on the plane. I knew that Jasper hated that I was butting in on this but I couldn't ease my conscience. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to tell Edward news like this when I had no concrete evidence. He'd suffered enough without a heinous mistake of telling him his soul mate she was dead when there was a chance, albeit a slim one, but a chance that I had it wrong.

I was reprimanding myself for my terrible judgement, she was the one person that I hadn't checked on, and it wasn't even as though I'd just accidentally looked over her, I'd thought her name and put it to the side thinking she would never reach me when I was this far away. I was attuned to her, but even so I normally had to search for her future, she was human after all. I should have thought of this as a cry for help, her soul was probably calling out to anybody, any one of _us._

I made myself a promise there and then, I would always listen to my intuition. I was too scared at what I'd find to check on her. It would probably be the biggest mistake I'd ever made.

I looked at the clock on the dash, I only had an hour before my flight and the airport was thirty minutes away, even though that was driving at regular human rates. I knew I'd make it on time but I pushed the gas pedal further down to make a point of getting there early.

The airport was emptier than I'd thought it would be. I didn't care I just wanted to get where I was going. I had a hard time sitting still , and it was made all the worse for not having Jasper close by. I was always a mess when I was away from him. I sat down and tried to see Bella, really see her. I knew that she would have jumped already and I knew that if there was a chance she survived I might be able to see her. There was nothingness, it was a blurred empty space. I shuddered as I thought about what she'd gone through, I had to check on Charlie and see how he was doing. I sat quietly and concentrated my efforts on Charlie. That was when I saw him in the hospital holding a woman, I wasn't sure who she was, but he was crying, he looked so tired and upset.

My heart felt empty, like even the cold empty space where the organ sat dead had been pulled from my chest. What had we done. In trying to save her we'd effectively killed her. I couldn't fathom it. I kept my thoughts far from Edward because I found myself blaming him. It wasn't his fault, he thought he was doing the best thing for her, I told him it wouldn't work.

As they called my flight I ran to the gate, it took everything in me to keep to human speeds, I needed to be there, I wasn't sure how Charlie would take to seeing me because I knew how hard it had been when we left. I never had a chance to say goodbye. It was such a mess.

The plane ride felt longer because of the impatience I felt. My foot tapped nervously and I kept checking the clock on my phone. I was sure that the flight staff thought I had OCD, but that really wasn't my concern right now, they could think what the hell they wanted to.

I was ready to run through the doors as we started to descend into Seattle, I had taken my bag on as hand luggage because I didn't want to be hindered any more than I already was. I needed to get to the Mercedes and head towards forks as soon as possible, I knew even pushing the Mercedes to the limit it would take just under an hour to get there. As soon as the doors open I bolted. I was starting to get thirsty due to the lack of hunt this morning, I was glad I hunted yesterday, it would tide me over a little longer but the stress that I was enduring and the ways I was pushing myself had used up the stores that would normally hold me over for a week. I had been careless and wasted my resources.

I jumped into the Mercedes and let the engine purr to life, I pulled out of the parking spot and threw it into drive. The wheels span mercilessly as I pushed the car to the top of the speedometer before I had even left the parking structure. I pulled out into traffic without looking and wove around the swerving cars. I was speeding down the freeway before anyone had time to get out of their car. I had been blessed with a heavily overcast day and the afternoon was wearing on. It was almost five and at this time of the year the sun would disappear into the horizon soon.

The car cruised steadily at one-hundred and twenty all the way to Forks, I opened the window and let the air breeze through the car, I needed the fresh air to clear my head, I had to be strong for Charlie. The familiar surroundings of the Forks town limits came into view. I was going to stop at the house and clean up before I headed to the Swan house but I couldn't stop I kept driving. I didn't stop until I was outside of the small dark house that had become so familiar to me over the last year. My entire mind felt the need to shut down but I couldn't do it, I couldn't let myself go. It would have been too selfish. I pulled to the curb and parked and got out quietly. I headed towards the house. Charlie himself had told me where the key was in case I ever needed it so I reached above the door and pulled down the key, I replaced it after unlocking the door. I stepped in and pulled the door closed behind me. The light had almost gone completely so I headed into the living room and sat on the couch to wait. I didn't turn a light on, I didn't think I could stand seeing the familiarity of everything and the pictures of Bella that covered the mantle. Not that I needed a light of course, but the darkness made it more bearable. I sat quietly with my thoughts, I was here, and for the first time I could truly feel myself breaking apart. There was nothing to rush for, nothing to panic about, the only thing I had to do was wait.

I sat in the dark for almost an hour before I heard it, the sound was unmistakable, I'd heard it a dozen times before, it was almost the sound of home. It was Bella's truck. It stopped in front of the house. I didn't get up, I'd thought someone was probably being kind and returning it to where it truly belonged.

I heard the door open but slammed shut with a definitive slam, and then the motor roared to life again and sped of down the street. I paused and listened intently. I heard the truck pull to a halt at the end of the street and there were two voices, it sounded like they were arguing and one of them sounded very familiar.

I heard the truck start up again and pull back down the street to the front of the house. This time my curiosity got the better of me, I looked out the crack of the curtains and my breath left me in a whoosh as it exited my lungs. There stood in front of me as clear as day was Bella Swan. She was alive. I stood frozen to the spot. I couldn't move. Bella moved slowly towards the door, she looked nervous. I heard her reach for the key and unlock the door, she pushed the door open and I got the first smell of her, she smelled terrible. I stood frozen to the spot. I could hear her moving her hand along the wall looking for the switch. I moved slowly toward the wall she was feeling, I was being as quiet as I could be, I didn't want to scare her. She froze staring past me into the darkness. Her entire body froze, she looked frightened and I knew it was time to let her know I was here. I flicked on the light and waited for her reaction.

I was stood in the middle of the hall, my thirst was clawing at me now that the panic was unfounded. We were stood motionless staring at one another. Before I could say a word Bella wobbled then threw herself at me, she hit hard and the words she had been crying came out with a gush of air. "Alice, oh, Alice!"

"Bella?" I could hear the mixture of emotions in my voice but I tried to keep myself composed. As good as it was to see her, she was alive. I couldn't quite understand how, but here she was. Her arms locked around me and the sobbing began, I hadn't noticed how distraught and gaunt she looked. Her hair was a mess and she had dark rings under her eyes where she had obviously not been sleeping. I stood still resting one arm around her waist. I tried not to breath, I was so thirsty.

Bella's sobs became uncontrollable and I pulled her gently to the couch in the living room. I pulled her into my lap and let her cry. I was so shocked at the look of her, I knew that she wouldn't recover. Why didn't he listen to me. I rubbed her back gently and waited. She had to get this out of her system before I could get any sense from her.

"I'm . . . sorry," Bella mumbled between tears. "I'm just . . . so happy . . . to see you!"

'It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay." I said trying to comfort the trembling girl that clung to me like her life depended on it. It was hard to see her like this.

"Yes." as her head was still nestled into my shoulder I smiled to myself. Only Bella could be so positive when she was bawling into my shoulder. Unfortunately her blood was still highly tempting and she was exceedingly close to me. Each one of her veins flowed loudly beneath her skin as her heart loudly pumped the fluid through her system.

I sighed trying to stop that thought process before it got to far. "I'd forgotten how exuberant you are," I was pulling further away from her each second and I was trying to not breath.

Bella looked up at me with tear flooded eyes, her delicate features recognizing the signs that I was a thirsty vampire and she was curled up on my lap.

"Oh," Bella whispered as she climbed away from me, but staying close. "Sorry."

"It's my own fault. It's been too long since I hunted. I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today." I could feel my eyes narrow in my frustration as I spoke the next words, I was so confused. "Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

I knew it sounded cold but I was trying to figure out exactly where I went wrong. How I hadn't seen her get out alive. More importantly, how had she gotten out alive, the currents that had been swirling below her had been deadly. I watched her carefully as she processed my words. Her sobbing stopped immediately. She swallowed, never taking her eyes from me.

"You saw me fall."

"No," I could feel my eyes narrowing again, I was glad she was okay but this was like getting blood from a stone. "I saw you _jump_."

Bella once again processed my answer and pursed her lips. I knew she was aware of what I'd seen. I just wasn't sure how much longer she was going to deny me an answer. She'd tried to kill herself because she thought life without him had been too much. How blind could he be?

"I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me." I went into Edward impersonation mode without thinking about it, "Bella promised, don't be looking for her future, either. We've done enough damage." I closed my eyes I was angry now. "Just because I don't look doesn't mean I don't _see. _I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella." I took a breath and looked down at my hands. "It's just that, I'm already attuned to you . . . when I saw you jumping. I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do _nothing_. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up." I shook my head and looked up at her, I knew the confusion was written on my face but I had to understand. The memory of the vision entered my mind and I could feel my voice struggling to put into words how I felt.

"I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What Happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have _any_ idea what Edward—"

"Alice, I wasn't committing suicide." Bella said cutting me off mid sentence, something told me it was Edward's name that motivated her to speak, but I couldn't believe that she would have jumped of a cliff that high for any other reason than to kill herself.

"Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?" I asked, knowing that what I had seen had been all to real to have not happened.

"No but . . ."Bella's face scrunched up into a grimace. "It was for recreational purposes."

Recreational purposes, risking your life for fun. I had never really thought of Bella as the extreme sports type, in fact Bella and sport didn't really mix. She should have known this before being so reckless.

"I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving, it looked like . . . fun, and I was bored . . ."

Fun, diving from a cliff, fun. I didn't believe it.

"I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all."

How could she really expect me to believe this, I knew Bella too well to think she would jump into a water from a goodness knows how high cliff into stormed waters . . . for fun of all things.

"So if you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?" she asked.

I tipped my head trying to recollect the vision I had seen. It was so clear to me, she went under and never came up, then it blurred again. There was no one else there.

"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me. Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out of it for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?"

"Someone pulled you out?" I was staring at her in disbelief, there had been no one else there in the vision. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. There had been no one there, no matter how many times I played it in my memory.

"Yes. Jacob saved me."

Who was this Jacob? and why hadn't I seen him pull her out? where did he get the strength to pull her out? I saw those waters, and what the hell was that smell? I leaned in closer to Bella and sniffed. She smelt very strongly of. . . Bella froze, silly girl.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said continuing to smell, I was trying to place that smell, I wasn't sure if I'd smelt it before. I knew that it was repulsive whatever it was.

"What are you doing?" Bella had relaxed again and her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing."

"Jacob Black. He's . . . sort of my best friend. I guess. At least, he was . . ."

Okay so this boy was a Quileute. I recognized the name instantly. I was hoping I was wrong about the rest though.

"What?" Bella asked breaking my train of thought completely.

"I don't know, I'm not sure what this means."

"Well, I'm not dead at least."

I rolled my eyes, Edward was the biggest ass I had ever come across. We all knew how accident prone poor Bella was, yet he insisted she would be fine. He was an ass and I would be happy to tell him so. "He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone so prone to life threatening idiocy."

"I survived." she pointed out, I could only half agree, she was a mess. She looked like she had struggled rather than lived and no one deserved to live that way.

"So," I let my mind wander back to what Bella had been saying earlier. Something that had caught me attention and held it. "If the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?"

"Jacob is . . . strong."

I raised my eyebrows, I could hear in the tone of her voice that there was something she was hiding from me. She'd forgotten how well I knew her, she'd forgotten that Vampires have photographic memories. I would always know when she was lying. I looked at her and watched as she gnawed on her lip and contemplated telling me what she was hiding. She looked at me again before speaking.

"See, well, he's . . . sort of a werewolf." she said quickly. "The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Where you with Carlisle back then?"

This all came out so blase that I didn't have time to compose myself and my reactions, I could feel myself blinking rapidly when I finally composed myself. Werewolves? How could this one relatively small human girl attract so much trouble. Then it all clicked into place, the smell, it smelled like wet dog but worse. It was foul.

"Well, I guess that explains the smell, but does it explain what I couldn't see?" I could feel the frown forming, I needed to speak to Carlisle but I knew that he would call me as soon as he got back to the house so there was no hope in trying to call him right now. I would have to wait for him to call me.

"The smell?" Bella asked curiously.

"You smell awful," I said, and it was true she reeked terribly of wet dog. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure," the look on her face told me that she had at one point seen them phase. "I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?"

"No, I hadn't found him yet." I answered absentmindedly. Werewolves, could it be possible that I couldn't see them, it would certainly explain the blurs of vision I had been seeing, in fact it would explain the blur that had occurred after Bella had been in the water for a while. Was it possible that they were able to escape being in my visions? So Bella was best friends with this boy, she was. . . "Your best friend is a werewolf?"

Bella nodded sheepishly, but I could tell that she had no idea how dangerous it was for her to be in any kind of close proximity to a werewolf.

"How long has this been going on?" I asked expecting her to explain to me how long the two of them had been friends, but her answer shocked me more than I had been prepared for.

"Not long, he's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks." she was a little defensive of her friend and that concerned me. Young wolves were the most dangerous but I checked briefly into the future and was surprised that I could, however, since I had been stood here in her presence, I could once again see her transformation into a vampire, but I didn't have time to dwell on that just yet. If I'd been looking I'm sure I'd have seen it all along but now was not the time for this. She had been putting herself in danger everyday since she had become friends with this boy and had no idea. I couldn't stop myself from glowering at her.

"A _young_ werewolf? Even Worse! Edward was right — you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?" I asked this on a spur of the moment, Edward had told me that she had promised not to be reckless once we left. I could understand him asking this of her but I could understand why she hadn't stayed true to her word, where was he to make sure she stuck to it, what was the reason for sticking to it? But I couldn't let myself sympathize with her at the moment, she had to understand what kind of danger she'd put herself in.

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," she seemed a little deflated from my last comment but I had no time or patience to be gentle right now. My best friend had been spending her time with a pack of young werewolves, they were notorious for being unable to control their rage.

"Until they lose their tempers." I shook my head. "Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you had to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find." The words almost sounded comical in my head. I sat looking at Bella waiting for one of her witty retorts, but none came. She sat trembling at the other end of the couch in what seemed to be elation. But her face was almost pleading with me to understand.

"No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leave — not all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten before she could, I guess, so—"

"Victoria?" I could hear the words escaping me as a hiss, I hadn't intended this to happen because I hadn't wanted to scare her, but it all seemed to make a little bit more sense. I couldn't see Victoria anymore because she was so close to Bella she was acting on pure instinct, and. . . "Laurent?"

Bella nodded, I realized that my blackened eyes were more than likely manipulated into a death stare brought on by the names of the two people I hadn't expected to hear uttered from Bella's mouth again.

Bella pointed at her chest. "Danger magnet, remember?"

I shook my head, I couldn't believe this poor girls luck, I was just glad, in a small way this happened. We were the only ones who could keep her truly safe, she had been lucky so far with the wolves, but I couldn't expect them to keep it together much longer.

"Tell me everything—" I said sighing. "Start at the beginning."

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**A/N: Bella's back . . . which means Edward will soon follow. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Thanks to the Reviewers and Alerts and Faves N stuff you all ROCK, YES YOU ROCK LIKE slash on guitar hero (oops showing my age much!!)**

Thank you seriously, your words are kind and very motivational (3 Chapters in One day :) See Spoiling you again)

Anywho, link to the play list is on my profile. . . Enjoy some music ;0)

65 Days until breaking Dawn :) and 3 days till SE Eclipse. Oh and don't forget MTV has a scene from the movie playing before the MTV movie awards. Not sure of the exact time!!


	19. Chapter 18 Misunderstood

_All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer :)_

**_Songs for thought:_**

_Untitled - Silverchair, Everything Changes - Staind, The Story - 30 Seconds to Mars_

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**Chapter Eighteen - Misunderstood.**

I sat with Bella on the couch for hours as she told me almost everything that had happened since we'd left. I knew she'd been editing on some things but the ease in which she skipped them told me they were inconsequential to the story.

She had told me that she had struggled in the beginning, I think she was making it sound a lot better than it was because her description had been so vague and her eyes betrayed her as they showed the pain. I also knew her better than she thought I did. She was easy to read. I knew I had to let it go for now. I wanted to get to where Laurent and Victoria fit into the story.

She began with bear sightings in the area, they had been sighted and hikers deaths had been blamed on them, but she said that they weren't bears they were the wolves.

Bella was open on these descriptions, she had told me how her friend Jacob who had still been human when they became friends had begun to avoid her and she had become concerned because of the gang, that was supposedly taking over La Push. She of course took this as another rejection and took to doing things by herself instead of allowing it to break her this time. She explained that she had gone on a hike and had run into Laurent, he had explained he'd been helping Victoria, which sparked a lightbulb in my head. Now she would know everything about us, including my visions and Edward's ability to read minds.

Laurent had almost ended her life that day and I was sure she had known how close she'd come to death, luckily, and at this point it was luck, the wolves showed up and were able to attack him, then killed him and burnt the pieces. Bella was left with a fear that she now had Laurent and Victoria after her, she hadn't realized that the wolves had disposed of Laurent. I was alarmed at the whole Laurent description. We should have known that they would be a threat, that they knew where she was. Maybe we were being naive in thinking they wouldn't dare come back. Again, Bella had come close to death and it was again our fault.

Her fear for her friend grew and she finally became fed up of his immature antics and decided to confront him, this was when he was cruelest to her, I could see that the memory of this had been hard on her, once again her actions and eyes betrayed her true emotions. Bella was fragile, but she seemed so easy to forgive that I couldn't interrupt to complain about his behavior. He then, against his packs requests, tried to explain what was going on to Bella, she realized what he was and confronted him about some of the murders going on in the area, which people had been blaming on the bears, and the bears had actually been the wolves. Bella had told Charlie that they were in fact wolves after her narrow escape from Laurent, and so that morning he was going to hunt the wolves to try and stop them. This accusation was when Jacob Black brought up Victoria. She had been doing the murdering.

They had been chasing her across the boundary lines for days, not knowing what it was she wanted. Finally Bella understood what was going on and had a meeting with the wolves about it. Something about her description of the wolves lead me to believe that this was when she had seen at least one of them phase, her eyes glazed and she shuddered when she mentioned them. She then spent a majority of time down on the reservation so they could protect her. She said she'd become bored and Jacob had promised her that they could go cliff diving so when he disappeared, she decided to go alone. I didn't want to interrupt her but I wanted to talk to her about the cliff jumping, it wasn't the best thing to do when you're bored, and although I'm sure she was aware of that now. I still wanted to understand, I knew Bella. It would have to have taken something more than boredom for her to do something so reckless.

She then explained that as she was being pulled from the water she saw a flame on the water and had no idea what it was until she got home, which is why she'd frozen at the door. It was Victoria in the water, she hadn't realized it at the time because of her confusion from her near drowning. I didn't like that Victoria had gotten so close but I kept listening until she had finished. She then explained what I had seen when I saw Charlie at the hospital, a close friend of his had died from a heart attack, and he was at the hospital with his family.

My heart immediately went out to Charlie, I knew how loyal of a friend he was. He had kept most of his friends from a young age and he had been such a good friend to me in the time I'd known him.

Bella's long story brought me a realization, one that I knew from the beginning but kept my mouth shut because I had promised to. "Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?" I murmured.

Bella left our a hysterical yelp. "That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit."

I had forgotten about Edward's excuse, I wasn't sure if I could keep it up, I wasn't sure if I could willingly leave her in this desperate state, I had to gauge her reaction. So I forced the next words out of my mouth.

"Well . . . I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded."

I watched as the little color Bella had in her face drained. She leaned towards me and desperately held on to the collar of my shirt.

"Don't go, Alice," she began hyperventilating "Please, don't leave me."

I was expecting her to get upset but the pure desperation in every action and word she had just thrown at me shocked me. I knew I couldn't leave her like this.

"All right, I'm not going anywhere tonight. Take a deep breath."

She sat struggling with herself, watching her was difficult. It was like she had forgotten how to breathe. I waited until her breathing was under control. As I sat and watched her I realized just how bad she did look, I thought she had looked bad before, but on a closer appraisal I noticed that she was paler than normal and her hair was in shambles, her eyes were bloodshot, only emphasized more by the dark circles under her them, and she was skinner than I had thought too. It seemed misery had become a constant companion to her in the time we had been gone.

"You look like hell, Bella."

"I drowned today," she reminded me defensively.

"It goes deeper than that. You're a mess."

Her eyes closed at my words, and her body tensed. "Look, I'm doing my best."

"What do you mean?" I asked, to me it looked like she'd just stopped living, it seemed as if she'd just given up entirely. She was clean, but she wore the pain inside and out.

"It hasn't been easy. I'm working on it."

If this is what she looked like after working on it, I shuddered to think what she had been like before. Poor Bella, I knew that her reaction would mirror that of Edward's but he was convinced that she would move on, because she was human. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"I told him."

"Alice," Bella sighed. "What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."

She was right, I did know better and I knew that she would be suffering because I knew her love for my brother, but I hadn't been prepared for the pure magnitude of her suffering. This was above and beyond the pain I was expecting. She had suffered more than I could have ever imagined.

"I do. But I hoped." I admitted, and I had hoped that it would have been as easy as Edward had assumed it would be. I went against my better judgement and accepted the assumption, always knowing in the back of my mind how wrong we all were. I knew and turned a blind eye. That one day I had checked on her and saw the pain. I thought it would lessen with time. It didn't and it looked like she was in the same hell as she had been the day we left her.

"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market."

I smiled at her retort but the phone rang and her attention was drawn away. It was odd, I could normally tell when someone was going to call but I hadn't heard this coming. Things were getting a little stranger. I had to start paying more attention.

"That has to be Charlie," Bella said getting off the couch to answer it. I knew it wasn't but before I could voice that she picked up my hand and pulled me from the couch. She wasn't going to let me go. I followed obediently not wanting another outburst of hysterical hyperventilation.

She pulled up the receiver of the phone. "Charlie?"

"No, it's me," I heard the low rumbling voice answer on the other end of the line, I recognized the voice from the arguing in the truck outside the house.

"Jake!"

I watched closely, I wasn't sure exactly what was going on between the two of them because I couldn't see this boy, which was exactly why I hadn't expected the phone to ring. It seemed connected.

"Just making sure you were still alive." his tone was unhappy and I could tell that he wasn't so excited to see me here.

"I'm fine." Bella assured him. "I told you that it wasn't—"

"Yeah. I got it. Bye." The rude boy subsequently hung up the phone, not waiting for an answer. I knew that this action had stung Bella. She hung her head back and stared at the ceiling, a sigh escaping her showing her obvious frustration. "That's going to be a problem."

I squeezed the hand I was still holding. "They aren't excited I'm here." I knew the answer to that, we were, after all, natural enemies, it was all we were able to do. The hate was mutual.

"Not especially. But it's none of their business anyway."

I wrapped my arm around her, it was time to get a little color back into Bella, I could tell our long conversation had taken even more out of her. I was beginning to feel a little guilty that I had drawn her into such a long conversation after the near death experience she had suffered. But as long as she wanted me around I would be here.

"So what do we do now?" I thought to myself, I would have to call Edward and confess everything and I would have to try and convince him to come back, though I was sure it wouldn't take much to convince him. It was more obvious now than ever that they were meant to be together. I was hoping the family would come back too. If I had to be here alone a while I wouldn't mind it. Bella needed me and I wasn't attending high school or College so I wouldn't be missed there, I could even come back and attend Forks so I could stay close to Bella. "Things to do. Loose ends to tie."

"What things to do?" Bella asked, and I looked at her, I hadn't realized that I'd said that out loud. I needed to be careful around her for a while, until I spoke to Edward. I was sure he wasn't going to change my mind, but I had to consider Jasper. He was my husband after all. I also needed to speak to Carlisle and see if he could understand my lack of visions around or concerning the wolves. I knew that it wasn't anything to do with interacting with the wolves because I could see Bella's future quite clearly now, and I saw her joining our family, as I always had. The circumstances usually changed but the outcome was always the same.

"I don't know for sure . . . I need to see Carlisle." I said trying to fill in the silence. Bella's emotions once again surfaced to visibility, and her color drained.

"Could you stay?" she begged, her voice strained as she tried to hold back her emotions. "Please? For just a little while, I've missed you so much."

"If you think that's a good idea." I wasn't sure how my family would take this and I certainly wasn't sure what constituted as a little while. I couldn't really tell at the moment. The thoughts in my head were arguing and contradicting themselves. I was so confused by all of this. It was harder than I had though to see Bella like this and I knew it would be difficult to go against my family's requests. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the visions weren't doing anything to ease the burning questions I had swirling around in my mind.

"I do. You can stay here—Charlie would love that."

"I have a house, Bella" I knew this would upset her but I was sure staying with her would make it harder to leave. She nodded slowly trying to reign in her disappointment and I felt a surge of guilt eating at me.

"Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least."

Bella once again threw her arms around me bringing her neck in close proximity to my nose and my mouth. I was under control but the smell was agonizing, and that was putting it mildly.

"Alice, you're the best!" Her heart rate grew with her excitement and the blood pumped quickly through the veins.

"And I think I'll have to hunt. Immediately," I was fighting now, as good as I was at this lifestyle, the silver platter on which Bella was holding herself for me was beginning to cloud my senses, I had pushed myself too far. I fought with my natural impulses. I would never hurt Bella, but the animal in me was struggling.

"Oops." Bella stepped away from me and the small distance between us afforded me my sanity once again.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" I asked but I scratched that, I held up my hand to stop her answer and I closed my eyes. I could see Bella showering and cooking, and no fires or tripping. I would have to keep her close tomorrow though.

"Yes you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway." I thought about what could possibly go wrong tomorrow, I had seen her changed again, so I knew it would be something terrible, unless Edward was on his way here now with a plan.

"You'll come back?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"I promise—one hour."

Bella looked at the clock that sat on the wall above the kitchen table. I laughed at that and kissed her on the cheek, I flew out if the door quickly, my throat felt like it was closing over and the scaly texture of my tongue was distracting me. I headed towards our white house by the river. There were plenty of herds of deer between here and there and I could pick up some things I needed. A quick snapshot of a vision hit me, I wasn't sure what it was about but it was a roll of money, large notes, similar to the roll I kept in my old room for emergencies. I wasn't sure what it meant but I knew better than to not follow my intuition. When I picked up some of the clothes I left behind, I would pick up the money. I knew it came into play for a reason, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know why.

I was back in Bella's living room forty five minutes later. Bella had made me a makeshift bed on the couch and she was in the kitchen eating. I didn't want to disturb her, she looked too thin as it was. I sat quietly and waited for her to discover me. It didn't take long, she walked slowly into the room looking lost in thought. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.

'Thanks." I said patting the pillows that were laying on the couch.

"You're early." Bella squealed and moved to the couch to sit next to me. She leaned her head on my shoulder, it was safe now I'd had my fill. I wrapped my arms around her gently, she was warm, I hadn't felt that in a long time. I sighed at the comfort of it.

"Bella. What _are_ we going to do with you?" I was smiling but she was cuddled into me not seeing the gesture.

"I don't know, I really have been trying my hardest."

"I believe you." I said and I did. It was evident that she had survived on basic instincts alone and with the help of the Dog she called her friend that resided across the line. I knew I should be more grateful to him for keeping Bella alive, but he had placed her in just as much danger by keeping her close. He was a young werewolf, he hadn't mastered his skills yet, he could rip her apart without blinking.

We been sat in silence for a while.

"Does—does he . . ." Bella stopped and tried to compose herself, I sat silently and waited, I knew what she wanted to ask, and it seemed she was having difficulty even saying his name. "Does Edward know you're here?"

"No." I knew that she would realize that something was wrong, she picked it up quicker than I had expected.

"He's not with Carlisle and Esme?"

"He check's in every few months." Once actually but she didn't need to know that. There was no sense in causing her more pain than she was already suffering.

"Oh." I could hear the pain tainting her voice anyway. "You said you flew here . . . Where did you come from?"

"I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family."

"Is Jasper here? Did he come with you?" she asked, I knew that she would immediately understand that I had to leave again eventually when I said no, but she deserved nothing but the truth from me.

I shook my head. "He didn't approve of my interfering. We promised . . ." I trailed off as I heard the cruiser pulling up the road, a sound that was as familiar to me now as Bella's truck.

"And you think Charlie won't mind my being here?" I asked, I wanted to make sure. I knew Bella wouldn't want me to be uncomfortable, but he had just suffered the loss of a good friend.

"Charlie thinks you're wonderful, Alice."

"Well, we're about to find out." I said as the cruiser grew closer to the house, we both sat in silence as Bella listened for her fathers car. She jumped up and hurried to the door. I sat and listened as she opened the door and approached Charlie.

"I'm sorry about Harry, Dad." She said sympathetically.

"I'm really going to miss him," Charlie's voice was laced with the despair at the loss.

"How's Sue doing?"

"She seemed dazed, like she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's staying with her. . ." I stopped listening to the private conversation intentionally. It was a grief I would have gladly taken from him if I could but my concerns had been with his daughter.

"Um, Dad?" I heard Bella clumsily bring up the subject of my presence and headed towards the door. I didn't want him to guess who was here. Charlie was glaring at the Mercedes as I arrived in the doorway.

"Hi Charlie," I kept my tone subdued to express my sympathy at his loss. "I'm sorry I came at such a bad time."

"Alice Cullen?" Charlie was staring at me in disbelief, like I was a vision conjured up by his imagination, Bella watched him fastidiously, "Alice, is that you?"

"It's me," I said confirming that what he was seeing was, indeed, me. "I was in the neighborhood."

"Is Carlisle. . .?"

"No, I'm alone." I knew it wasn't Carlisle he was concerned about, he didn't have to tell me that his concern was aimed solely at my brother. I knew that Bella's state had worried him, I could see that his concern was well founded. He tightened his arm around Bella's shoulder, as if to protect her from the pain.

"She can stay here, can't she?" Bella was close to begging again. "I already asked her."

"Of course, we'd love to have you, Alice."

"Thank you, Charlie. I know it's horrid timing."

"No, it's fine, really. I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company."

I glanced from him to Bella. The pure joy Bella was feeling reflected in her eyes but she held her face straight for her fathers benefit.

"There's dinner for you on the table, Dad."

"Thanks, Bell." He gave Bella a squeeze before heading into the house. I always like and respected Charlie and it was difficult for me to see him in so much pain. I turned and headed back to the couch, not wanting to intrude any more than I already had. Bella followed me, this time I pulled her into my shoulder. She looked so weak and tired and the dark circles under her eyes were concerning me as the grew darker.

"You look tired."

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Near-death experiences do that to me . . . So, what does Carlisle think of you being here?"

"He doesn't know." Well he might I thought to myself, but I was sure they were still too far out in the wilderness to do anything about it. "He and Esme were on a hunting trip. I'll hear from him in a few days, when he gets back."

"You won't tell _him_, though . . . when he checks in again?" I knew who she meant and I was right in my assumption that she found it hard to say his name. I wasn't surprised, it was obvious that he had hurt her more deeply than he knew.

"No. He'd bite my head off," and I'm sure metaphorically he would, I had promised to stay away but he couldn't expect me to do nothing when I thought she had died, I came to make sure, either way. He had no right to be angry really.

Bella laughed and sighed, her silence left me alone to my thoughts. I was glad I had been wrong, but I should have called Rosalie to let her know what had happened. I was also concerned about the roll of money I had hidden on me. It was a considerable amount of money to just carry around especially when I had so many limitless credit cards. What was it for? And why had I seen myself picking it up?

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**A/N: There ya go today's chapter, I'm not sure I'm completely happy with it. But Alice is close to having another vision. :)**

I only work half days on Fridays so I will try and get two chapters up for you tomorrow.

Thank you, as always, to the wonderful reviewers. I am honored that you take the time to let me know what you think. believe me I don't take you for granted and I appreciate everything you say to me, even though I don't get around to replying (sorry about that!) but anyways YOU ROCK AS ALWAYS AND I LOVE YA ALL :)

Don't forget the playlist link is on my profile. . . oh I think I also forgot to mention that the wedding dress Alice designed has a link on there too. (Delayed Reaction Much?) I have also decided that I will carry onto Eclipse, so if you've interested in reading that I'm going to start when I've finished this one.

I think thats everything lol . . . m'kay, I'm gonna go start the next chapter , :P -L


	20. Chapter 19 Catching Up

_All things Twilight belong to the fantastic Stephenie Meyer._

_Songs for Thought:_

_Tears Don't Fall - bullet for My Valentine, Eclipsed - Evans Blue, Imaginary - Evanescence_

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**Chapter Nineteen - Catching Up**

I sat with Bella as she slept, her rhythmic breathing was comforting to me as I sat in the darkness contemplating my next move. I couldn't leave her like this. I knew that she would still become one of us because as soon as I came into contact with her I saw it. I just wasn't sure how to convince the rest of the family.

I was sure that if Esme could see how she looked right now it would break her heart. Carlisle would be able to see the physical effects immediately and poor Jasper would feel every ounce of despair that still seemed to have a tight grasp on her.

I had seen a change in her since the little time I had been here, and I knew she still loved Edward because she called his name in her sleep. I felt lost, the only two things I could see in my mind at this time were of Bella becoming a vampire, and Rosalie. I wasn't quite sure what Rosalie was doing but she was changing decisions consistently. She was up to something but I hadn't figured out what yet.

Charlie came down early that morning, he looked tired and pained. I gently moved Bella onto the couch so she was lying down and headed into the kitchen.

"Morning, Charlie." I said trying not to startle him.

"Morning, Alice. Do you want some breakfast?" he asked as he headed toward the fridge.

"Sure, do you need any help?" I asked as I watched him move around the kitchen. I was hoping he would give me something easy to do seeing as I no idea how to cook anything edible.

"No, you go ahead and take a seat, I'll whip us up something."

I smiled and watched him as he worked. He would steal glances at me occasionally and I was wondering if he wanted to talk, I thought I would get the ball rolling, I had questions I needed answered. I heard Bella's breathing pattern change, she must have woken up. But I took a risk and made the decision to carry on, I think she needed to hear what Charlie had to say as much as I did.

"How bad was it, Charlie?" Bella had told me she had struggled but I knew she was playing it down. That was evident from her appearance alone.

Charlie sighed. "Real bad."

"Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened when we left." This was going to be hard to hear, but I needed to hear it. I needed ammunition in case my family questioned me, and I was curious as to how much Bella had candy coated it for me.

Charlie kept working on breakfast and pulled some plates from the cupboard as he turned off the eggs. He pulled the toast from the toaster and placed them on the plates. Followed by the eggs. He turned to me, his face held the pain from all of the months we had been gone, I felt my insides crawl. He placed the plate of food in front of me and took his seat across the table.

"I've never felt so helpless," He began, he pushed the eggs around his plate before looking at me again. "I didn't know what to do. That first week — I thought I was going to have to hospitalize her. She wouldn't eat or drink, or move. Dr. Gerandy was throwing around words like 'catatonic,' but I didn't let him up to see her. I was afraid it would scare her."

He paused briefly as he ate some eggs. My entire body felt numb, she had shut down completely, given up. How could we have believed it would be okay?

"She snapped out of it though?" I asked patiently, trying to urge him to continue.

"I had Renee come to take her to Florida. I just didn't want to be the one . . . if she had to go to a hospital or something. I hoped being with her mother would help. But when we started packing her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. I've never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for the tantrums, but boy, did she fly into a fury. She threw her clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn't make her leave—and then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn't argue when she insisted on staying here . . . and she did seem to get better at first . . ."

This was worse than I had ever imagined and the pain that was being emitted as he described this to me was painful. It seemed that even he was playing it down a little, it was almost as if the memory of it was too agonizing to relive.

"But?" I needed to hear the rest.

"She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered questions when someone asked her a direct question. But she was . . . empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little things—she wouldn't listen to music anymore; I found a bunch of CDs broken in the trash. She didn't read; she wouldn't be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it so much before. I finally figured it out—she was avoiding everything that remind her of . . . him."

Well there it was, my worst fears were just confirmed, and it wasn't necessarily the words themself, it was the hesitance to say Edward's name, it made it crystal clear that they had avoided the subject completely, but the thought of him alone pushed her over the edge to where even Charlie couldn't say it out loud. I held my tongue and let him continue.

"We could hardly talk; I was so worried about saying something that would upset her—the littlest things would make her flinch—and she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something."

"She was alone all the time. She didn't call her friends back, and after a while, they stopped calling."

"It was the night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep . . ."

Charlie shuddered and I felt my body do the same. She still had nightmares about Edward leaving, she still suffered everyday whilst we continued on normally. I had never felt so guilty in my entire life, I had smiled, laughed, and gone on with my life when we left here. Admittedly, Edward was suffering, which was probably more than I could ever imagine, especially considering what Charlie and Bella had been going through since we left. This was a bigger mess than I ever thought possible. I heard Bella sighing in the living room. She had obviously made an effort to hide her pain from Charlie.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie." every one of my emotions was visible in my voice.

"It's not _your_ fault." he explained and I knew that the statement pointed the finger of blame to my brother. "You were always a good friend to her."

"She seems better now, though." I said this knowing that things weren't that much better but that there was an improvement since the time Charlie had just described.

"Yeah. Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I've noticed a real improvement. She has some color in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She's happier." Charlie said and then contemplated his next words, I saw a glint of something behind his eyes.

"He's a year or so younger than her, and I know she used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe it's something more now, or headed that direction, anyway."

A quite sigh appeared from the living room, it was almost inaudible to my ears, but something told me that Bella could see through her fathers words, just as I could. This was a message for Edward to stay away, he was hoping that this would prove that Bella was moving on. I let him continue.

"Jake's old for his years, he's taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He's a good-looking kid, too—takes after his mom's side. He's good for Bella, you know,"

"Then it's good she has him," I said knowing that this was Charlie's lifeline, this was his way of coping. Jacob was making Bella smile and act similar to her old self again, it was only natural he clung on to this with both of his hands.

Charlie let out a large sigh almost in defeat, I realized he'd wanted me to argue with him, to defend my brothers actions, he wanted a way to come straight out and tell him to stay away. Apparently the lack of opposition, brought out the honesty behind his words.

"Okay, so I guess that's overstating things. I don't know . . . even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I've ever grasped how much pain she's really in. It's not normal, Alice, and it . . . it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone . . . left her, but like someone died." Charlie's voice cracked at the end of the sentence and he lay his head in his hands.

I could feel the sobs building in my body but I fought to keep control. I hated that we had done this. I couldn't place all of the blame on Edward, he thought he was doing what was best. I knew better and I let him do it, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Emmett all knew this was wrong but we let it happen, we didn't try to stop him. We just let him make this decision. Even with Carlisle's talk of letting us all make our own decisions, we should have known this was different.

"I don't know if she's going to get over it—I'm not sure if it's in her nature to heal from something like this. She's always been such a constant little thing. She doesn't get past things, change her mind."

"She's one of a kind." I said in agreement, Bella was certainly different compared to most humans, and her pain was just as intense as Edward's. Charlie was more insightful than I'd given him credit for, Bella was constant and she would never get over it. There was more than love between her and Edward, you would have to be a fool not to see it.

"And Alice . . ." Charlie paused. "Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she's happy to see you, but . . . I'm a little worried about your visit will do to her."

"So am I, Charlie, so am I." I was worried, I knew that if I left, Bella would probably break apart again and I wasn't sure I could have that on my conscience. Although I was going to use all of my effort to end this stupidity. "I wouldn't have come if I'd had any idea. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, honey. Who knows? Maybe it will be good for her." he said attempting a weak smile.

"I hope you're right."

Charlie continued to eat and I continued to hide the food in the napkin I had been given with my plate. I sat in silence contemplating what to do, I knew that Charlie would be hesitant at Edward's return but I was sure that it would eventually be fine.

"Alice, I have to ask you something." Charlie asked awkwardly.

"Go ahead," I was sure I knew what was coming.

"He's not coming back to visit, too, is he?" Charlie sounded like he was holding back his animosity towards my brother, he was attempting to mask his voice.

"He doesn't even know I'm here. The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America."

"That's something at least." Charlie had an edge to his voice. "Well, I hope he's enjoying himself."

I couldn't let t his go, I let him freely place all the blame on Edward, but I couldn't let him assume he was painless.

"I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie." I said with a little bit too much ice in my tone.

Charlie smiled at me apologetically and pushed his chair out from the table, he picked our plates up. He headed towards the sink and I held the napkin closer to myself, out of his view. He started running the water to do the dishes and I successfully threw my napkin in the trash.

I could hear the spring in the couch moving as Bella attempted to awaken officially. She yawned loudly. I smiled to myself, she was a terrible actress, but it's because I knew better.

Charlie looked at me briefly, he was silently asking me to keep our conversation to ourselves and I nodded in agreement. I knew Bella had heard most of it but I wouldn't bring it up, unless she wanted to talk about it.

I could hear Bella stretching and groaning. I smiled again. She was over doing it.

"Alice?" she called sweetly, I could hear the graininess from her near drowning lacing the word.

"I'm in the kitchen, Bella." I called just as sweetly.

"I'm heading out, you two catch up. I'll call you later." Charlie said as he kissed Bella on the forehead and headed towards the door. Bella busied herself making her breakfast and her eyes would occasionally flicker toward me, almost like she was making sure I was still there.

"We started talking and I told her what the family had been doing since we left. She seemed genuinely interested that I had pursued the information we had gotten last spring, from James. She listened intently as I told her about the asylum and the record and the death certificates. I left out Angel and New Orleans for now. I told her about Rosalie and Emmett's honeymoon, she was surprised that they had taken another one. We spoke about everything but Edward. I wasn't sure how she would take that conversation, I needed to speak to my family before anything was said. I also avoided the topic of my leaving. I had decided it would be easier to spend a couple of days with her before making a decision. It only seemed fair. She was actually starting to pick up a little bit of color and her eyes had some life in them. I wouldn't have the strength to steal that from her yet. She deserved a little bit of a silver lining, however short lived.

We sat on the couch talking all day, and I hadn't realized it was dark outside until I heard Charlie's cruiser pulling down the street. He came in looking exhausted, I could have thrown my arms around him right then and there. He headed to bed not long after getting in, he would be attending the funeral early the next morning and I knew that he just wanted the day to be over. I couldn't blame him.

Bella and I watched old movies on the couch until she fell asleep. I laid her down and covered her with a blanket. She had been calling Edward's name again and shivering because of the temperature of my skin so I headed over to the recliner. I had time to mull over everything that I had heard in the last two days.

Bella and I were as close as ever, we knew that she had grown attached to us but this was like coming home to a long lost sister. She was so cheerful in my presence, and my heart had lightened in hers, I missed Jasper terribly and decided I should probably try and call him. I knew that there was a chance he wouldn't get any reception that far out into the wilderness. I didn't even know if he had found Carlisle and the others.

I pulled out my phone and looked at it. There was no harm in trying and at least this way I could leave him a message so he would know what was going on. I got up and crept into the kitchen so I wouldn't disturb Bella. I dialed in the number and waited.

The dull sound of the beep sounded in my ear and I sighed.

"Jasper, honey, it's me. Bella's fine. It's a long story that I really don't want to leave on your voicemail, but she's fine. A little shaken up and happy to see me. I miss you terribly. Call me when you get this. I love you, bye."

I flipped the phone shut and pocketed it. I hoped he would be able to relay the message to everyone before they did something stupid.

I watched Rosalie's decision making for a while but she still couldn't decide on one specific thing, so I tried to ignore it. She was trying to decide whether or not to go after Jasper and the others to see if they'd heard anything.

I dressed as the morning approached, I hated the feel of the sweats I was wearing, I wore them whenever I stayed at the Swan's, it looked less suspicious to Charlie. I didn't stay often but it was something I had seen the first time I stayed here when Bella got back from Phoenix, I stayed to help her when she needed to go to the rest room during the night. Edward had been frustrated at my presence but it was Charlie who had suggested it.

I heard Charlie moving around upstairs before the dawn had even considered making an appearance. I sat still in the recliner and leaned my head back and to the side and feigned sleep, there was no pointing in hindering him with mindless chatter on such a sad day. I heard him tiptoe down the stairs, Bella woke at his footsteps but stayed still, just listening as Charlie tip toed to the door.

As soon as he was out I stood up. "So, what are we going to do today?" I asked, I brought this up to stop the looks similar to the ones Bella had been throwing at me yesterday morning. I knew it was because she feared my departure.

"I don't know—do you see anything interesting happening?"

I smiled and shook my head, I'd checked last night and the day was pretty uneventful. "But it's still early."

Bella grinned at me and began working on her routine around the house, I followed her watching. I would help when she needed it but mostly she told me she was just enjoying the company. So we talked. I questioned her about school and the people there but she really had trouble telling me anything. She told me that she hadn't really spent time with any of them. I knew then how bad things had gotten, when Charlie said it had been like night of the living dead he hadn't been exaggerating. Bella, it seemed, had been walking around clueless for the last six months.

She was scrubbing the bath tub and I was propped on the door jam when the doorbell surprised me. I couldn't believe I had missed that. Bella looked at me with just as much confusion. Then I recalled the circumstances of my previous 'blind spots.' I couldn't see the wolves, that's what all of this was about, they were causing my blindness.

"Hold on!" Bella shouted past me as she got up from the floor and approached the sink to rinse the cleaning agent from her hands and arms.

"Bella, I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out."

"Guess?" Bella asked in confusion.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black, or one of his . . . friends."

Bella stared at me incredulously and then the realization registered in her features. "You can't _see_ werewolves?"

"So it would seem." I said, now I had figured it out, it aggravated me. I couldn't understand why I couldn't see them.

The doorbell rang again twice, the noise ran down my spine like nails on a chalkboard. It was definitely a wolf, that would account for the impatience.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Alice. You were here first."

I laughed at that, her loyalty was flawless, but I knew the outcome of coming face to face with one of those mutts. "Trust me—it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together"

I kissed her cheek quickly and fled out through Charlie's window. As bad as the outcome would have been if I had stayed, I couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling I had left her in danger. I ran through the woods, now would be a good a time as any to hunt, I wasn't sure when the opportunity would arise again.

I ran freely through the woods trying to catch the scent of the deer that I knew freely roamed the area. A swirling in my mind slowed me down and slowed to a stop. I lay my hand on a tree for support and let the vision come willingly.

It was Edward, he was on a plane heading towards. . . _Italy_? I saw him standing in front of a group they were older vampires and I knew their faces. The were the Volturi, I felt my hand rise to my throat as Edward began to speak, he was pleading them to kill him pleading for death. He looked paler than he should and completely drained. The sadness that surrounded him made my heart ache. His body was in a defensive stance but his eyes betrayed him, the agony of the moment shrouded him. The vision ended and I pulled myself together. What had happened? What was he thinking? Did he find out about Bella?

I had to get back to Bella, she could be our only hope, we had to find him before he got there. He wasn't in Italy yet, but it wouldn't be long.

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YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME, Thank you for all the alerts and Reviews. Okay I'm going to go ahead and work on that second chapter for you :)


	21. Chapter 20 Goodbye

_The conversation between Alice and Rosalie was taken from an Extra that Stephenie wrote, it's a pdf document on her website :). So Truly everything Twilight belongs to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer because she thinks of everything ;)_

**_Songs For Thought_**

_Year Zero - 30 Seconds to Mars, My Last Breath - Evanescence, Far Away - Nickleback._

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**Chapter Twenty - Goodbye**

As I ran through the forest my mind began to catch up with my vision, I could feel my mind freeze in my head, this couldn't be happening. Why would he do such a thing? I pulled out my phone and dialed his number desperately. I was willing him to pick up and when it stopped in the middle of a ring I held my breath. A voice came over the other end of the line, it was a different language, but thankfully one I knew. They found the phone in Rio, in a trash can. I thanked them and hung up. This was bad.

As I closed in on Bella's house I scaled the side of the house and was in Charlie's window in the blink of an eye. I could smell the wolf and I knew that he was still here. None of this mattered, I made my way down the stairs, I didn't know what to say or do, I felt blank, numb. I stood still at the bottom of the stairs.

I barely registered Jacob Black trying to escape my presence, my mind was replaying the vision over and over looking for clues. I had to find something, there had to be something that could stop this from happening. There was.

"Bella," her name came out of my mouth as a choke, I couldn't focus on her but she approached me quickly. I could feel my body shaking with the pain I was finally feeling, the pain that shook my entire core.

Bella placed her hands on either side of my face and my eyes focused a little, the fear was sparkling in her eyes. "Alice, what's wrong?"

"Edward." I whispered, it was all I could manage, my dead heart was shattering in my chest.

Bella's eyes rolled slowly into the back of her head as her body gave out from under her. Jacob Black flew forward and caught her in his arms, his eyes were dark and angry and his entire frame shook violently.

I pulled myself together, I couldn't fall apart now. I had to stop him, we had to stop him, and I had to call the family. Jacob stood glaring at me with Bella limply laid in his large arms. He body was still shaking but he seemed to be in a little more control.

"What have you done?" He spit angrily at me.

"She's fainted dog, take her to the couch."

Jacob stared at me for a moment longer before complying with my wishes. He laid her gently on the couch and leaned over her protectively. He wasn't going to let me get close. His body was still shaking and the longer he stared at me the more violent they became. A stream of profanities escaped him and I saw Bella coming to slowly under his protective stance. I breathed a sigh of relief, I needed her coherent.

"What did you do to her?" Jacob growled. I rolled my eyes and watched as Bella became more alert.

"Bella? Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry." I said stepping forward. I was going to hold her hand.

"Stay Back," Jacob warned and I stopped where I stood. This was taking to long, Edward was getting on a plane. Jacob began shaking even harder. If the shakes became any more violent he would change and he would hurt Bella in his effort to get to me.

"Calm down, Jacob Black. You don't want to do that so close to her."

"I don't think I'll have any problem keeping my focus." His voice lost some of the anger as he glanced at Bella's body beside him.

"Alice?" Bella's voice came out quietly. "What happened?" she asked hesitantly.

"I don't know," my voice came out as a wail, I couldn't hold back my fear any longer, "What is he thinking?"

Bella pulled herself up with Jacob's arm and looked at me, concern written across her brow. I pulled out my phone and started dialing the number to Tanya's house in Denali.

Rose answered. "Yes?"

"Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle _now_." I said, I knew that she would still be sour about the way I spoken to her earlier but I didn't have time for all of that right now.

"Oh, Alice! Carlisle's hunting. What—?"

"Fine, as soon as he's back." I said cutting her off sharply.

"What is it? I'll track him down right away and have him call you—"

"No," I said interrupting her mid sentence. "I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?"

"Well, yes, Alice. Actually. I did talk to Edward. Just a few minutes ago." She snapped. "You and Carlisle were wrong. Edward wouldn't appreciate being lied to. He'd want the truth. He did want it. So I gave it to him. I called him. . . I called him a lot. Until he picked up. A message would have been . . . wrong."

This meant that she had spoken to Carlisle and Edward. Carlisle had agreed with me to keep this quiet until I found out what had happened. No doubt Jasper had told him what I said in the voicemail. No I'm sure that I was misjudging the situation, she wouldn't tell Edward a flat out lie, they must not know Bella's alive. Rosalie knew that I'd come here for the truth, but she'd called him anyway.

"Why?" I gasped into the phone desperately, she had no idea what she'd done. "_Why _would you do that Rosalie?"

"Because the sooner he gets over this, the sooner things go back to normal. It wouldn't have gotten easier with time, so why put it off? Time isn't going to change anything. Bella is dead. Edward will grieve and then he'll get over it. Better he begins now than later."

"Well, your wrong on both counts, though, Rosalie, so that would be a problem, don't you think?" I could hear the acid in my voice directed at my cold hearted sister on the other end of the line. She was possibly the most arrogant person I knew, She may as well pull Edward apart and burn him herself for the good she's done.

"Bella's still alive?" she asked her voice dripping with confusion. I couldn't believe she was so idiotic, I had told her I was coming to make sure. Why hadn't she listened.

"Yes, that's right. She's absolutely fine—"

"Fine?" Rosalie screeched into the phone. "You saw her jump off a cliff!"

"I was wrong." I admitted.

"How?" Rosalie whispered into the phone.

"It's a long story." I said coldly watching Jacob Black as he held his protective stance.

"Well, you've made quite a mess," She accused coldly. "Edward is going to be furious when he comes home."

"But you're wrong about that part, too, that's why I'm calling. . ." I said through my teeth. I was trying to keep my composure.

"Wrong about what? Edward coming home? Of course he will." She laughed at me mockingly before continuing. "What? You think he's going to pull a Romeo? Ha! Like some stupid, romantic—"

"Yes," I said cutting her off again my voice as sharp as a razor. "That's exactly what I saw."

"No. He's not that stupid. He—he must realize that—" her voice trailed off as the realization of my words sunk in. "I—I didn't mean it like _that_, Alice! I just wanted him to come home!"

"It's a bit late for that, Rose." I said bitterly. "Save your remorse for someone who believes it."

I flipped my phone shut not wanting to hear another vile word from her mouth.

I turned to look at Bella, this would hurt her, just as much as it hurt me and my fears were going to become a realization if we didn't do something soon. I had to get to where he was before he did something stupid, but we were running out of time.

"Alice," Bella said quickly before I could speak. "Carlisle is back, though. He called just before . . ."

Oh no, I knew what this meant. . . confirmation. "How long ago?" I asked

"Half a minute before you showed up."

"What did he say?" I was hoping I was wrong.

"I didn't talk to him." Bella said, her eyes turned to Jacob.

I followed her gaze and kept my eyes focused on him. He flinched under my scrutiny. He was still trying to protect Bella.

"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here." Jacob muttered angrily.

"Is that everything?" I asked knowing it wasn't, he wouldn't have gotten on that plane without knowing for sure. I knew him well enough to know that.

"Then he hung up on me." Jacob spit at me getting more frustrated with my interrogation. His body began to shudder again. I didn't have time for this.

"You told him Charlie was at the funeral." Bella said trying to be helpful, but it was the one thing I had been worried about, it was the one thing that would have forced him onto that plane. I was certain he called from the airport. I immediately turned my attention to Bella. "What were his exact words?"

"He said, 'He's not here," and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, 'At the funeral.'"

I sank to my knees in defeat, I could hear the moan escape my lips. Edward was going to kill himself over a misunderstanding. I could feel my entire body shutting down. I felt hopeless. There had to be a way to stop him. I couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

"Tell me, Alice." Bella whispered still half concealed behind Jacob.

"That wasn't Carlisle on the phone."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Jacob snarled.

I ignored him keeping my focus on Bella only, she had to understand.

"It was Edward." The words came out in a whisper, I couldn't find my voice. "He thinks you're dead."

Bella's features relaxed and her shoulders followed suit, I was curious as to why she felt so relaxed about the situation.

"Rosalie told him I'd killed myself, didn't she?" she sighed.

"Yes." I could feel my confusion as it grew. "In her defense, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realize . . . or care . . . ?" I didn't finish my sentence, it was hard enough to think it I couldn't bare to say it aloud.

"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant _my_ funeral." Bella's fingers dug into Jacob's arm but her face looked _calm_.

"You're not upset." I whispered my voice had taken leave of me once again. It was beyond me and the confusion and grief I was feeling had my mind running in circles.

"Well, it's really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him . . . what . . . really . . ." Bella's voice trailed off, I knew that the look on my face was the cause of it, she didn't understand. We sat for what felt like an eternity staring at one another.

"Bella," I whispered. "Edward won't call again, he believed her."

"I. Don't. Understand." Bella practically mouth, all of the air seemed to be stuck in her throat as her mouth framed the empty sounds. I knew I had to explain it.

"He's going to Italy."

All of the color drained from Bella's face as the realty washed over her, she understood, she saw, she knew. Her eyes glazed as she sat looking stunned and scared. She looked as though she was going into shock. Her lips seemed to lose their color and her body wavered gently on the spot.

"NO!" she screamed. All three of us jumped at the loud sound that had been such a contrast to the whispers we had been using. "No! No, no, no! He can't! He can't do that!"

"He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed that it was too late to save you." I admitted.

"But he . . . he _left_! He didn't want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!"

"I don't think he ever planned to outlive you by long," I said quietly. It was past the time of keeping up this stupid facades, she had to know why he was doing this.

"How _dare_ he!" Bella screamed standing in one of her swifter movements, Jacob stood too trying to position himself between us.

"Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!" she said, elbowing him and stepping around his trembling form.

"What do we do?" she begged as she stopped in front of me. "Can't we call him? Can Carlisle?"

I shook my head. "That was the first thing I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio—someone answered it . . .," I whispered.

"You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Lets do it, whatever it is!" she pleaded, her eyes were open wide and pleading with me to just do what we needed to to rectify this situation. I thought about what I was about to ask her to do, we would both be risking our lives, and I knew how fragile she was. I couldn't ask her to do that.

"Bella, I—I don't think I can ask you to . . ."

"Ask me!" Bella had found her voice and she was stern.

I placed my hands on her shoulders, I flexed my fingers to keep them relaxed so I wouldn't grip to tightly, it was also to make her understand the urgency. "We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi . . . and asking to die."

Bella's reaction mirrored my own, the thought was one neither of us would want to see through. I watched as the water pooled in her hers, she blinked at them desperately.

"It all depends on what they choose. I can't see that until they make a decision." I sucked in a desperate but unnecessary breath. "But if they say no, and they might—Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him—Edward has a backup plan. They're very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's right. They will."

Bella's jaw was rigid as she stood listening to me, the impatience we were feeling ran through us both. I had to make sure it was her decision though, she had to know the consequences if this didn't work.

"So if they agree to grant his favor, we're too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tenancies . . . we might have time."

"Let's go!"

"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I will be considered an accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much, but also smells too good. There's a very good chance that they will eliminate us all—though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime."

"This is what's keeping us here?" Bella asked solicitously. "I'll go alone if you're afraid."

"I'm only afraid of getting you killed." I answered honestly.

Bella snorted in disgust. "I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!"

"You write a note to Charlie. I'll call the airlines." I said knowing we didn't have anymore time. I knew she had made up her mind and she wouldn't be budged.

"Charlie," Bella gasped as I flipped open my phone and dialed the number to the airline.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Charlie," Jacob said angrily. "Screw the treaty."

"Hurry, Bella." I said and watched them both disappear into the kitchen. A woman answered the phone and I had her get me two tickets first class on the fastest Route to Florence, Italy. She clicked away on her keyboard as I dashed around finding the things I needed. She rattled off a couple of times to me and I closed my eyes and concentrated on the earliest one. We would make it but it would be close. We had no time to waste. I thanked the woman and hung up, our tickets would be waiting for us.

I once again threw everything into a bag and left the room. I slung my bag over my shoulder. Bella appeared with Jacob at her shoulder.

"Get your wallet—you need ID. _Please _tell me you have a passport. I don't have time to forge one."

Bella nodded and headed up the stairs. I stood and stared at Jacob as he glared back at me. I headed towards the door and opened it wide.

"Italy, you're taking her to Italy. To save _him_. Do you have any idea what he did to her?" Jacob said quietly under his breath.

"Not that it's any of your business dog, but this was her choice to make."

"He broke her in every way that is possible. And here you are just putting her right back in the same situation."

"She's safe with me and my family, Edward loves her, he was trying to do something honorable."

"Really, is that why you're dragging her off to a certain death."

"What's that supposed to mean."

"You might control yourselves on occasion, but these leeches you're taking her to—" Jacob accusatory tone got under my skin. His smell wasn't doing much to help matters either.

"Yes. You're right, dog," The words came out as a snarl. "The Volturi are the very essence of our kind—they're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I'm not unaware of that."

"And you take her to them like a bottle of wine for a party!" Jacob was shouting now.

"You think she'd be better off if I left her here alone, with Victoria stalking her?"

"We can handle the redhead."

"Then why is she still hunting?" I threw back at him.

Jacob growled and a shudder ran through him as his anger began to peak.

"Stop that!" Bella shouted, I hadn't even noticed her arrival. "Argue when we get back, let's go!"

I turned to the car and ran towards it. We had to move now if we were going to make our flight. I started the car and waited. I watched Bella as she spoke to the dog. He looked upset, we didn't have time for this so I revved the engine. Bella hugged him quickly and the stepped away and headed towards the car. I threw the passenger door open for her. She threw her backpack over the seat and climbed in next to me. Her tear stained face turned to the window as she rolled it down.

"Take care of Charlie!" she called into the empty night.

I slammed my foot hard on the gas pedal and we took off, wheels spinning in my haste.

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**A/N: sorry it's a little later than I anticipated but I went to see the sex and the city move, and I got my SE Eclipse. . . The first Chapter is awesome.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and alerted and whatnot, you guys are awesome, YOU ROCK, I can't help saying it now, it's just so True, YOU ROCK. **

**Love and hugs to you all, I will attempt to get two more chapters up tomorrow. . . Till then :)**


	22. Chapter 21 Time

_The Twilight universe belongs to awesome Stephenie Meyer._

**_Songs For thought:_**

_It doesn't Matter - Alison Krauss, Fear - Sarah McLachlan, Lucky - Bif Naked_

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**Chapter Twenty-One - Time**

Just as I had predicted we made our flight with hardly a second to spare. As we strapped ourselves in I felt a shroud of pain enclose me. I had to call Jasper and let him know what was going on. He was going to be upset and I wasn't sure if I could hold it together if I spoke with him. This didn't matter because I missed him and I needed that opportunity to say goodbye, this was just in case. I hated thinking like that, but I had to be realistic.

Bella impatiently bounced in the seat next to me, the flight attendants were pacing the aisles calmly checking that everyone was seated and belted before we were taxied to the runway. I placed a hand on Bella's shoulder to try and calm her, it wouldn't do to have her so worked up. The attendants were already watching her suspiciously.

"It's faster than running." I whispered to her when there was no one close.

She nodded at me in the same beat as her bouncing, if she kept this up it would be an incredibly long flight. I needed to concentrate what was going on in Italy. Edward's plane was close to touching down. We were at a stand still on the tarmac.

As if my thoughts were answered the plane slowly moved away from the gate. This intensified the bouncing Bella, her tortured expression was the only thing that made the situation more tangible. As the plane was hauled slowly from the ground I watched Bella, waiting for her to calm, now that we were finally on our way. She still looked wild eyed and impatient, it was understandable.

The plane was still gaining altitude when I picked up the phone to call Jasper, I couldn't put it off any longer. The hollow sense that floated around me and the fear that was eating at me was becoming too intense. I needed to hear his voice. I needed him.

A flight attendant glared at me in disapproval but I turned so I could no longer see her. I could care less what she thought. Bella glared at something behind me, I was guessing someone was coming to ask me to refrain from using the phone. But they never came, I'm sure the look that Bella had given them had stopped them in their tracks, it was almost an 'I dare you to come over here'. If this had been any other situation it would have been quite humorous.

I waited as the phone rang, I had called Jasper's phone directly because his was the only voice I wanted to hear. I didn't have time to explain this to anyone else. I didn't have the patience to talk with them when I longed to hear his voice. Love is irrational, even more so when there is a chance of losing it.

"Alice?" His voice came over the line and my breath caught in my throat, it had been to long since I'd heard my husbands beautiful voice. I swallowed to keep my sobs at bay.

"Jasper, baby, I miss you."

"I miss you too, Alice. Are you alright? You sound strange. Where are you calling from?" He asked concern adding a slight hysteria to his voice.

"I'm on a plane. I'm fine, so is Bella, I'm sure you heard that from Rosalie though."

"She feels terrible."

"I'm not interested in how she feels right now Jasper, I have to get through this before I can even think about that, I need to get to Edward before he can execute his plan. If we get to him before. . ." I said trailing of not wanting to speak the alternative ending, especially in such close proximity to a very emotionally charged Bella.

"I understand, so what is Edward's plan?" he asked quietly, I was sure he was hiding from the highly perceptive ears around him.

"I can't be sure, I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind."

"Has he completely bypassed talking with Aro, Marcus and Cais?" he asked.

"No, he will go to them first, it won't take him long to find his way there."

"So these are decisions based on them saying no?"

"Exactly." I sighed, my voice was almost inaudible to everyone on the plane but my husband's ears were better than most. I longed to be in his arms, hearing his voice had strengthened that longing and it was now painful. My chest felt like it was caving in.

"Well, what are his choices so far?"

"A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square . . . mostly things that will expose them—he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction."

"Alice, I'm going to get a ticket and head in that direction."

"No, you can't." I could hear the panic in my voice, as much as I needed him this minute I couldn't take the risk of him having to share this fate. There was a chance we could die and I wasn't going to let him go out in that fashion, I loved him too much. If he was with us it would definitively turn into a fight and I couldn't let that happen. I had to be smart about this, I had to think with my head and not my heart.

"Emmett feels the same way, Alice. We should be there. We can help."

"Tell Emmett no."

"I can't, he and Rosalie are headed out to the airport, they left about five minutes ago."

"Well, go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back, it' won't do any good for them to show up."

"Why, Alice. You know we can all help."

"Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?" I pushed my point. The entire family knew how stubborn Edward could be, if he had seen any of us approaching or more to the point any of our minds before we got close. He would only act faster. Our only hope was Bella, her mind was silent to him and she was the only proof we had she was still alive.

"He'll act faster. The stubborn fool."

"Exactly, I think Bella is the only chance—if there is a chance . . . I'll do everything that can be done, but prepare Carlisle; the odds aren't good."

"Alice," Jasper's voice was firm. "If they find you there, anywhere near him, they will have you as an accomplice."

I laughed nervously, I didn't want him to know how much danger we were in, but there was no fooling him, he was smarter than that.

"I've thought of that." I admitted.

"Then I need you to promise me you'll get out alive, I don't care what it takes. Do you understand me, you will come home to me."

"Yes, I promise."

"This is so hard." his voice was a whisper and I could hear the edges begin to fall apart, he was trying to be strong, he was trying to give me his strength. This was as hard for him as it was for me. I knew he was battling his overwhelming need to protect me and it would take all of his effort to not get on a plane and follow me to Italy. I had to make him promise me.

"Don't follow me." I heard the pleading in my voice. "I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out."

"You better." He whispered, I could hear him fighting for control of his voice again. "I love you , Alice."

"And I love you."

"Come home to me." He begged but I hung up the phone, I couldn't bare to hear the pleading in his voice, I knew he understood. He knew he needed to go after Rosalie and Emmett.

"I hate lying to him." I said to no one in particular and I laid my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. I was trying to stop the sobs from over powering me. I was afraid I was losing the battle.

"Tell me everything, Alice." Bella begged from the seat next to me. "I don't understand. Why did you tell Jasper to stop Emmett, why can't they come help us?"

"Two reasons," I whispered, I kept my eyes closed, I still wasn't past losing control. "The first I told him. We _could_ try and stop Edward ourselves—if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive. But we can't sneak up on Edward. And if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act that much faster. He'll throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down." I took a deep breath before I continued, I needed to gather strength to say what was in my mind, but was having trouble forming into words. "That's the second reason of course, the reason I couldn't say to Jasper. Because if they're there and the Volturi kill Edward, they'll fight them. Bella." I opened my eyes and looked at her, hoping that she would understand, hoping she would forgive me for my selfish reasoning behind keeping them away. 'If there was any chance we could win . . . if there were a way that the four of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can't, and, Bella, I can't lose Jasper like that."

A wash of understanding crept into Bella's eyes and she nodded. Understanding this, was why she was my best friend. I couldn't have asked for understanding from anyone but her, she knew me and she knew my pain.

"Couldn't Edward hear you, though?" Bella asked. "Wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that I was alive that there was no point to this?"

Confusion and pain were evident, as Bella contemplated her own words and it occurred to me she really didn't understand why Edward was doing this, it made me wonder what he'd said to her to make her react like that, to think that he had no reason to act upon her death this way. I was aware that she believed he didn't love her. It was written in every response she had given me, and I had just played along, let her keep believing the lies he had fed her. I shuddered to think what he'd said to make her feel like that.

"_If_ he were listening," I explained trying to answer the question. "But believe it or not, it's possible to lie with your thoughts. If you had died, I would still try to stop him. And I would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as I could. He knows that."

Bella's jaw clamped and the noise of her teeth grinding upon one another was clear. It wasn't a pleasant sound to my sensitive ears.

"If there were any way to do this without you, Bella, I wouldn't be endangering you like this. It's very wrong of me." Even though I knew without a doubt that Bella still loved Edward and would have done this regardless, I still felt the need to apologize. I couldn't imagine how hard this was for her. Going to save the man you love but believing in your heart the feelings were no reciprocated. The girl was amazing and the most selfless person I had ever come across.

"Don't be stupid, I'm the last thing you should be worrying about." She shook her head impatiently. "Tell me what you meant, about hating to lie to Jasper."

I smiled at the dark memory of the lie I had just spoken to my beloved husband. I was sure the smile came out as grimly as it was intended. "I promised I would get out before they killed me, too. It's not something I can guarantee—not by a long shot." I knew that Bella had no understanding of the danger involved and it also occurred to me that she may not care, but I cared, I could see Jasper's beautiful face every time I closed my eyes, his smile, his eyes, his love. It was excruciatingly painful to imagine the pain he'd have to live with if I failed.

"Who are these Volturi?" she asked in a whisper. "What makes them so much more dangerous than Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and you?"

I sucked in an unnecessary breath, and looked over her shoulder at the gentleman sitting behind her. I knew he had been trying to listen to our quiet conversation and it was beginning to aggravate me. Bella spun in her seat and glared at him. He turned his head as if he wasn't listening. When Bella kept her glare he opened his computer and pulled on his headphones. I heard the music playing in them and turned back to Bella. She leaned in closer so we could have our privacy.

I got my mouth closer to her ears so no prying ears would have the chance to capture anything I was about to say.

"I was surprised that you recognized the name, that you understood so immediately what it meant—when I said he was going to Italy. I thought I would have to explain. How much did Edward tell you?"

"He just said that they were an old, powerful family—like royalty. That you didn't antagonize them unless you wanted to . . . die." Bella struggled with the last word as if her true fears were being realized.

"You have to understand," I said slowly, trying to emphasize the point I was trying to make. "We Cullens are unique in more ways than you know. It's . . . _abnormal_ for so many of us to live together in peace. It's the same for Tanya's family in the north, and Carlisle speculates that abstaining makes it easier for us to be civilized, to form bonds based on love rather than survival or convenience. Even James's little coven of three was unusually large—and you saw how easily Laurent left them. Our kind travel alone, or in pairs, as a general rule. Carlisle's family is the biggest in existence, as far as I know, with the one exception. The Volturi." I looked around the cabin again to make sure there was no one listening.

"There were three of them originally, Aro, Caius, and Marcus."

"I've seen them," Bella mumbled quietly. "In the picture in Carlisle's study."

I nodded, she was perceptive. I hadn't expected her to remember that. "Two females joined them over time, and the five of them make up the family. I'm not sure, but I suspect that their age is what gives them the ability to live peacefully together. They are well over three thousand years old. Or Maybe it's their gifts that give them extra tolerance. Like Edward and I, Aro and Marcus are . . . talented."

Bella opened her mouth to speak but I continued. "Or maybe it's just their love of power that binds them together. Royalty is an apt description."

"But if there are only five—" Bella started but I knew what she was going to say so I cut her off.

"Five that makes up the family," I said pausing for effect. "That doesn't include the guard."

Bella sucked in a breath and her eyes widened. "That sounds . . . serious." she concluded.

"Oh, it is," I assured her. "There were nine members of the guard that were permanent, the last time we heard. Others are more . . . transitory. It changes. And many of them are gifted as well—with formidable gifts, gifts that make what I do look like a parlor trick. The Volturi chose them for their abilities, physical or otherwise."

Bella's mouth opened and closed. I nodded knowing that she was calculating the odds.

"They don't get in too many confrontations. No one is stupid enough to mess with them. They stay in their city, leaving only as duty calls."

"Duty?" Bella asked her eyebrows raising slightly.

"Didn't Edward tell you what they do?" I asked feeling a little surprised that he had mentioned them in name only, leaving out the context of their self appointed supremacy.

"No," Bella looked perplexed. I looked over her shoulder as the business man turned his music down. It was a bare whisper in his ears now so I once again brought my lips closer to Bella's ears.

"There's a reason they call them royalty . . . the ruling class. Over the millennia, they have assumed the position of enforcing our rules—which actually translates to punishing transgressors. They fulfill that duty decisively."

Bella's eyes widened to the point in which it almost looked painful. "There are _rules?_" she practically shouted this.

"Shh!" I demanded, I knew this was all so new to her, but I couldn't risk anyone hearing.

"Shouldn't somebody have mentioned this to me earlier?" Bella whispered angrily, the shock still evident. "I mean, I wanted to be a . . . to be one of you! Shouldn't somebody have explained the rules to me?"

I chuckled lightly, "It's not that complicated, Bella. There's only one core restriction—and if you think about it, you can probably figure it out for yourself."

I watched her as she thought about it. Her fingernail instinctively began being chewed as she thought. She pulled her hand away and looked at me. "Nope, I have no idea."

I shook my head, "Maybe it's too obvious. We just have to keep our existence a secret."

"Oh." Bella mumbled, her open book emotions one again betraying her. She obviously agreed with the 'too obvious' statement.

"It makes sense and most of us don't need policing." I continued trying not to let her dwell on her embarrassment. "But, after a few centuries, sometimes one of us get bored. Or crazy. I don't know. And then the Volturi step in before it can compromise them, or the rest of us."

"So Edward . . ." She asked realizing the magnitude of his plans if they denied him his request.

"Is planning to flout that in their own city—the city they've secretly held for three thousand years, since the time of the Etruscans. They are so protective of their city that they don't allow hunting within it's walls. Volterra is probably the safest city in the world—from vampire attack at the very least."

"But you said they didn't leave. How do they eat?"

"They don't leave. They bring in their food from the outside, from quite far away sometimes. It gives their guard something to do when they're not out annihilating mavericks. Or protecting Volterra from exposure. . ."

"From situations like this one, like Edward," Bella finished looking hopeless, she didn't seem to have the same aversion to saying his name anymore and I was curious as to why. I was guessing it was the situation, nothing mattered when the one you loved was close to death.

"I doubt they've ever had a situation quite like this, you don't get a lot of suicidal vampires." I said a little too disgusted at the thought of it.

It was the wrong thing to say and I realized this as a whimper, escaped Bella at my words. She was in pain. I knew that and I could understand it. The thought of what we were about to do and Jasper's suffering if anything did happen to me put Bella and Myself in exactly the same situation. I wrapped my arm around her to give a little more support.

"We'll do what we can, Bella. It's not over yet."

"Not yet." Bella said letting me try and ease the fear and pain I had just instilled in her. "And the Volturi will get us if we mess up."

I froze and felt every inch of my body become rigid at her words. Was she giving up on me? "You say that like it's a good thing." I questioned.

Bella shrugged in indifference.

"Knock it off, Bella, or we're turning around in New York and going back to Forks."

"What?" Bella asked defensively, I knew that I could never turn us around now that we were on our path, it would mean Edward would certainly die. But I hoped the threat would be enough to scare her.

"You know what. If we're too late for Edward, I'm going to do my damnedest to get you back to Charlie, and I don't want any trouble from you. Do you understand that?"

"Sure, Alice." she said knowing that if she argued I would have to take her home.

I pulled back and glared at her, she had to understand that we had to survive, there were no if, and's or but's about it. We had to survive.

"No trouble." I demanded of her.

"Scout's honor." Bella muttered in defeat. I rolled my eyes at the gesture that really meant nothing at all to me, but it was her form of a promise, so I took it.

"Let me concentrate, now. I'm trying to see what he's planning."

I left my arm around Bella but let my eyes close as I leaned my head against the headrest. I concentrated with everything I had on watching Edward. It was the same as it had been but he was getting closer. He was trying to decide how to ask them. He wasn't sure whether honesty would be the best course or if he should lie to them so they would comply. He knew they would ask for a reason so he thought long and hard about the decision. Unfortunately, his plane was closer to Italy and although we would be on the next flight when he landed, we would still be eight hours behind him.

As I sat contemplating all of this I was jolted out of my concentration when Bella's warm hand touched my arm gently. I let my eyes open slowly as I readjusted to my surroundings slowly.

"Anything new?" Bella asked hopefully, keeping her voice low and she checked constantly over her shoulder at the man who packing up his laptop.

"Not exactly," I said quietly. "He's getting closer. He's deciding how he's going to ask."

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**A/N: Okay, I know that the conversation between Jasper and Alice is a slightly different version than in the book, but I'm going on the fact that Bella couldn't hear the entire conversation, only parts of it. So I hope I didn't screw it up. . . ;o. . .**

**Thank you for all of the awesome reviews, I can't believe how motivating it is to write when people appreciate your efforts :0)**

**YOU ROCK GUYS AND I STILL AM HOPING YOU WIN THE LOTTERY x)**

**TTFN: Big hugs to you all (I hope you don't mind the chapters seem to be growing longer and longer lol)  
**


	23. Chapter 22 Volterra

_All things twilight belong to The awesome Stephenie Meyer_

**_Songs For thought:_**

_Here Without You - 3 Doors Down, Take Me under - Three Days Grace, Beyond the Sun - Shinedown_

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**Chapter Twenty-Two - Volterra**

We ran to make our connection, but I wasn't complaining, it would get us there sooner and waiting around would have been a bad idea. As soon as the plane was in the air I let myself slip back into my visions. I had to watch his every move, I needed to be able to keep an eye on him.

It was the same visions over and over again and he was still making decisions as the plane landed. But as soon as he was out of the gate he was heading toward Volterra and the Volturi. His decision on that was immediate, Now I had to wait as he drove, and contemplated what it was exactly he was going to say to them. I sat in silence and watched as the Tuscan countryside flew by the windows and I noted every twist and turn and corner he took, he would take the most direct path to them and I was going to make sure I took the same path. It would cut our travel time down a little.

I watched as he agonized over the memory of Bella, his thoughts revolved around her constantly. She was in his every thought, driving him ever forward to the destination of his death. A death he now wanted more than anything else. He thought about every possible strategy there was as he silently drove. I could feel my own body react to his torment. I watched as he made plan after plan in case the Volturi denied him. He wanted it over quickly and he knew the only way to get what he wanted was to shock them. He shied away from death but welcomed it as if it were an old friend. I was having difficulties watching some of his decisions, they were unnecessarily brutal and I knew that he could never really do that, it was against his nature.

He finally arrived in Volterra and approached the Volturi directly, he found one of the guards, identified himself and followed them to their dwellings. It was too quick, he had to slow down. I watched as he stood in front of them. He told the story of Bella, he asked them to grant him this death as a gift. He begged them and Aro, approached him cautiously. I was sure they saw him as a loose cannon at this point. Edward held out his hand and Aro touched him gently, a serene smile danced across his lips. I wasn't sure what this was or what it meant. I continued to watch. I was so attuned to Edward the vision came easily. He begged them to take his pain away. They told him they would consider it and that he should come back the next day.

Another day, that would give Bella and me more time to get there, I focused now on Aro and listened into their discussion. They found Edward interesting and Aro explained Edward's gift to the others and they discussed the option of having him join the Volturi. I didn't really enjoy that idea but I hoped it would stall the outcome for a while. They collectively decided that they would decline his request, they would not grant him death. Aro actually used the word wasteful when he told them his views on whether or not to grant this.

I opened my eyes and grinned, it had felt like it happened in seconds but the sleeping form of Bella next to me made me realize that we had in fact been traveling for a while, maybe even halfway through. I shook Bella gently, I had to let her know what was going on.

"Bella," I hissed but had trouble keeping quiet due to my excitement that they had decided to turn him down.

"What's wrong?" she whispered quietly.

"It's not wrong," I could feel a smile creep onto my lips for the first time since this whole mess started. "It's right. They're deliberating but they've decided to tell him no."

"The Volturi?" Bella asked groggy from her sleep.

"Of course, Bella, keep up. I can see what they're going to say."

"Tell me." Bella asked as she began to become more alert. An attendant approached us quietly.

"Can I get you ladies a pillow?" He asked quietly, his voice was just above a whisper and I realized that I had been too loud.

"No, thank you." I answered beaming up at him, I hit him with the full force of my charm. I didn't have time for his nosiness. He staggered away looking confused and I turned my attention back to Bella.

"Tell me." Bella whispered this time.

I leaned in closer to her so I could whisper quietly. "They're interested in him—they think his talent could be useful. They're going to offer him a place with them."

"What will he say?" Bella asked.

"I can't see that yet, but I'll bet it'll be colorful." I said grinning, he may not have been asked so I could see the decision but I knew him well enough to gauge his answer. He wouldn't want that lifestyle, I knew that much, but the question would throw him off and perhaps give us enough time to get there. "This is the first good news—the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him—'wasteful,' that's the word Aro will use—and that may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better for us."

I could see the doubt on Bella's face, she wasn't sure it would be enough. I could see that she was running through all of the possibilities in her head. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to hope, we were still so far away and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would probably be as hesitant.

"Alice?"

"What?"

"I'm confused. How are you seeing this so clearly? And then other times, you see things far away—things that don't happen?"

I knew what she was referring to. "It's clear because it's immediate and close, and I'm really concentrating. The faraway things that come on their own—those are just glimpses, faint maybes. Plus, I see my kind more easily than yours. Edward is even easier because I'm so attuned to him."

"You see me sometimes," Bella said quietly.

I shook my head. "Not as clearly."

Bella let out a long sigh. "I really wish you could have been right about me. In the beginning, when you first saw things about me, before we even met . . ."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You saw me become one of you." she said almost inaudibly.

I sighed unsure of what to say, so I danced around the truth. "It was a possibility at the time."

"At the time," Bella repeated. I knew what she wanted from me but I wasn't sure if I should say it. I knew that she had a right to know and I knew I wanted to tell her.

"Actually, Bella. . ." I trailed off and hesitated, I still wasn't sure about whether or not I should say something. I had to, it was only fair. "Honestly, I think it's all gotten beyond ridiculous. I'm debating whether to just change you myself."

Bella stared at me eyes wide open, I saw a glimmer of something behind her eyes but it was gone before I could identify it. She was frozen in place. I was beginning to wonder if I'd frightened her.

"Did I scare you?" I wondered aloud. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"I do!" gasped Bella, and I realized the glimmer behind her eyes had been hope. I had never realized how much she had wanted this. "Oh, Alice, do it now! I could help you so much—and I wouldn't slow you down. Bite me!"

"Shh," I almost choked trying to get the sound out, I hadn't expected her to be quite so conformable to the idea. Not to mention the fact we had picked up the unwanted attention of the flight attendant again.

"Try to be reasonable," I whispered under my breath. "We don't have enough time. We have to get into Volterra tomorrow. You'd be writhing in pain for days." I could feel my face reflect my discomfort of Bella in pain. "And I don't think the other passengers would react well."

Bella bit her lip in contemplation. "If you don't do it now, you'll change your mind."

"No." I thought about it, Edward would probably want to rip me limb form limb. But I knew that it was coming and I knew I wouldn't be the one to do it, Edward would, even after I made the decision so say it and mean it. "I don't think I will. He'll be furious, but what will he be able to do about it?"

"Nothing at all." I heard her heart rate pick up speed as she allowed herself to hope.

I laughed at the sound quietly and sighed, I really hadn't known how much she wanted this. "You have too much faith in me, Bella. I'm not sure I _can_. I'll probably just end up killing you."

"I'll take my chances." She said defiantly.

"You are so bizarre, even for a human."

"Thanks." Bella said almost sarcastically.

"Oh well, this is purely hypothetical at this point, anyway. First, we have to live through tomorrow."

"Good point." Bella said but it didn't wipe the twinkle of hope from behind her eyes, I knew that she had a more positive outlook for tomorrow now and I was alright with that. It would give us incentive to move quicker when we hit the ground.

"Go back to sleep," I suggested quietly. "I'll wake you up when there's something new."

"Right," she grumbled and looked at me like I was insane. I pulled my knees up onto the seat, wrapped my arms around them and rested my forehead on my knees, it was time to go back to my vigilant watch. I had to keep an eye on Edward, when he heard the decision he would start with his backup plan and I was hoping and praying to a God I hoped listened to vampires prayers, that he would draw it out as long as possible, we had to get to him, we had to stop him.

I sat with my eyes closed, I could feel Bella's eyes boring into me as she watched me intensely. I concentrated on Edward, and waited. He was waiting for the appointed hour to return to the Volturi and get his answer. He looked agitated and I was sure it took all of his willpower to hold off until the hour they had suggested. He was still in pain and was thinking of ways to provoke them. It seemed he had an idea that they would say no, in fact he was concerned they would call Carlisle, no doubt.

When the hour finally came upon him he headed towards the dwellings through the dark streets, I tried to keep an eye on the direction he was headed in case we needed to find him. It was impossible the streets were like a dark twisting maze turning back on themselves before forking off into another direction. I gave up after a while and concentrated on the things in front of him. I tried to keep in mind recognizable landmarks.

He finally arrived at the Volturi's building and entered quietly keeping out of the gaze of the humans who were beginning to head to work, it was early in the morning, but it was a city that was almost stuck in time and there were trades men who took their livelihood seriously.

He paused in a clean office waiting to be admitted, waiting to hear his fate, whether they decided it or he did. He was still running through possibilities in his mind as he stood in front of them.

Aro smiled warmly at him as though he was greeting a son. There was compassion behind his eyes as he watched Edward closely.

Aro explained that they had in fact come to a decision and that there were declining his request for assistance in killing himself but that they were impressed with his gift and offered him a place with them. Edward stood still, thanked them for their offer, and declined. He excused himself from their presence and took to the streets. His mind flickered through possibilities. They came to me like snapshots, freeze frames of ideas he'd come up with. He was getting quite inventive. But he stopped on something I hoped he wouldn't be able to carry through. He decided to hunt.

He made his way through the city and stalked his potential victims, he was completely focused on his targets but something would always change his decision. There was a female he stalked through the streets and got very close to but she was visiting her lover and fell into his arms lovingly. Edward backed away, the scene was too painful for him. He followed another older woman down the street. She was carrying a large load and he offered to help her. He carried her things for her and charmed her as they walked, as he convinced her to enter an alleyway with him. I felt my breath stop, my body froze, and if my eyes weren't already closed I would have closed them. It seemed he was really going to do this.

As he leaned into the woman, he caught something running through her mind and he stopped. He dropped her things and disappeared. He changed his mind again.

This time he decided that he would just walk into the sun. That was it and he stuck with it. I saw people, a lot of people gathered and him walking out and sparkling like a diamond that catches a shard of light.

I let my body breath again. There was a clock tower that chimed as he did this and he would wait until the sun was high in the sky because the walls were high. This was our chance. We had to get there and fast. I felt the sun begin to warm my arm and I opened my eyes quickly. Through the small oval window of the plane, the sun was making it's first appearance of the day. I leaned over Bella and snapped it shut.

"What's happening?" Bella mumbled as her eyes flickered open.

"They've told him no," I said quietly.

"What's he going to do?" Bella asked her voice strained with panic.

It was chaotic at first. I was only getting flickers, he was changing plans so quickly."

"What kinds of plans?" Bella asked.

"There was a bad hour," I whispered. "He'd decided to go hunting."

Bella's face was blank, I felt like curling up into a ball and hiding, on the replaying of the scene in my vision, I found it hard to comprehend this was my brother. He seemed so lost, so vulnerable.

"In the city, It got very close. He changed his mind at the last minute."

"He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle," Bella mumbled, and she was right. I knew that even though Edward was determined to do this there was always his family and his love for them that played in the back of his mind. I knew this because it's how I would feel, and in matters like this we were very similar.

"Probably," I agreed, not knowing what else to say.

"Will there be enough time?" The plane began to descend as she asked me the loaded question.

"I'm hoping so—if he sticks to his latest decision, maybe."

"What is that?"

"He's going to keep it simple. He's just going to walk out into the sun."

Bella sat in contemplation and stared blankly at me, her eyes lit up at once and she gazed around the cabin in culmination and then looked back at me.

"We'll be too late," her voice was hoarse due to the panic.

I shook my head. "Right now, he's leaning toward the melodramatic. He wants the biggest audience possible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there. He'll wait till the sun is exactly overhead."

"So we have till noon?" Bella asked looking hopeful.

I knew that it would be hard to make guarantees when I couldn't see how it would play out for us, so I chose to be honest.

"If we're lucky. If he sticks with this decision."

The pilot came over the intercom, announcing, first in French and then in English, our imminent landing. The seat belt lights dinged and flashed.

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?" Bella asked curiously.

"That depends on how fast you drive . . . Bella?"

"Yes?"

"How strongly opposed are you to grand theft auto?" I knew I needed a faster car than some Peugeot that barley got over eighty without suffering.

As soon as we left the gate I pointed Bella in the direction of the door I would meet her at, she agreed and I headed to get us a decent car. Italians are proud people and enjoy their luxuries, so I knew I would find something that would work for us.

It didn't take me long, two minutes in the parking garage and my small piece of heaven called me. It was Yellow, had a wonderfully dark tint, it was a Porsche and it was perfect. I headed towards the beauty and using some well acquired skills that Rosalie had so lovingly taught me I popped the locks easily and slid in. The Porsche was a turbo so it would get me where I needed to go and fast. I used another set of skills procured from my sister and started the car. The car purred beautifully and I threw it into gear and headed towards where Bella waited for me.

I came flying to the curb and watched as Bella's eyes reached a new level of open, I unwound the passenger window.

"Hurry, Bella!"I shouted. I didn't have time for her to stand there gawking, time was running from us and we had to keep up.

Bella ran to the door and threw herself in, she looked completely horrified. "Sheesh, Alice," she said looking at the people staring at the car. "Could you pick a _more_ conspicuous car to steal?"

I stepped on the gas and clicked through the gears to get to the top speed as fast as I could, I was weaving through the traffic and heading in the direction that I recalled Edward heading in. my Photographic memory came in handy.

Bella grappled for her seatbelt and fumbled as she tried to click it into place.

"The important question," I corrected her, "is whether I could have stolen a faster car, and I don't think so, I got lucky."

"I'm sure that'll be very comforting at the roadblock."

I laughed at her sarcasm. "Trust me, Bella. If anyone sets up a roadblock, it will be _behind_ us." I hit the gas again making the car fly even faster.

I was driving the same roads that Edward had taken, the countryside was beautiful but I didn't have the time to appreciate it. Bella was sat on the other side of the car holding as tightly as she could to anything she could find. Every time we wove around a car on the narrow two lane highway she would tense and wait for a collision. She had no faith in my driving abilities apparently.

I would check my visions occasionally but not dwell on them for long, I needed to keep some kind of watch on the road, I was a great driver but if I let myself get caught up in a vision the consequences could be disastrous, especially considering I had a human sat next to me and an impending deadline that was growing ever closer. I couldn't afford to make a mistake like that. From the things I did see, I could tell that there was some kind of celebration going on, people everywhere were wearing deep crimson and they were all gathering in the clock square. It seemed Edward had his large audience.

"Do you see anything more?" Bella asked quietly. She'd been quiet for a while.

"There's something going on," I muttered. "Some kind of festival. The streets are full of people and red flags. What's the date today?"

"The nineteenth maybe?"

"Well, that's ironic." I almost choked the words out in a strangled laugh. "It's Saint Marcus Day."

"Which means?"

"The city holds a celebration every year. As the legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus—Marcus of the Volturi, in fact—drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourge. Of course that's nonsense—he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. _Father_ Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterra, so they must work." I smiled cynically. "It's become more of a celebration of the city, and recognition for the police force—after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get the credit."

"They're not going to be very happy if Edward messes things up for them on St. Marcus Day, are they?" she asked understanding the irony of the situation.

I shook my head somberly. "No. They'll act very quickly."

Bella turned her head and glanced at the window, she, just like I, knew the severity of the situation.

"Is he still planning on noon?" she asked, hoping like I was that things hadn't changed.

"Yes. He's decided to wait. And they're waiting for him."

"Tell me what I have to do."

I kept my eyes on the road, it was winding and narrowing as we neared our destination.

"You don't have to do anything. He just needs to see you before he moves into the light. And he has to see you before he sees me."

"How are we going to work that?"

"I'm going to get you as close as possible, and then you're going to run in the direction I point you."

Bella nodded in understanding.

"Try not to trip," I added. "We don't have time for a concussion today."

Bella groaned and looked down at her hands, I felt bad for bringing it up but I hoped being more aware of her feet would keep her upright. As we got closer the sun seemed to jump higher in the sky. Bella became more restless and I pushed the car as fast as it would move.

There on top of a hill ahead of us was Volterra.

"There," I said pointing it out to Bella. I was hoping that having it in sight might ease her nerves a little, but I knew it was pointless at this point her nerves were as frazzled as mine were. I just couldn't show them yet.

"Volterra." I said. The word felt like a razor blade sliding along my tongue.

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**A/N: I seem to have become long winded :) lol. Well, I promised you two again today, so here it is the second chapter of the day.**

**I love the Porsche, I wanted to delve more into how Alice really felt about it, but I thought it would take away from the moment so I let it go, maybe she can describe it in detail to Jasper when she gets home :)**

**Thanks as always to my driving force, My reviewers. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! and of course YOU ROCK! (I wouldn't be me unless I said it lol)**

**Playlist link is on my profile :)  
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	24. Chapter 23 For Whom the Bell Tolls

_All things Twilight belong to the Awesome Stephenie Meyer._

**_songs For thought:_**

_Micro Cuts - Muse (A repeat I know, but it was playing in my head as I wrote the first bit of the chapter ), Vampires - Godsmack, Group Four - Massive Attack, Dissolved Girl - Massive Attack_

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**Chapter Twenty-Three - For Whom the Bell Tolls**

I pushed the Porsche up the steep incline towards Volterra, there was more traffic around due to the festival and it was slowing us down. I could feel Bella's impatience as she watched the cold walls of Volterra become larger in our hasty approach. Finally our speed was stolen as a Tan Peugeot crawled up the hill ahead of us.

"Alice," Bella moaned from beside me her frustration brimming to the surface.

"It's the only way in," I tried to reason with her, I was feeling the same frustration but voicing it would only make things worse, we both needed to stay calm. I checked the clock again, it seemed the numbers were laughing at us as they sped up.

The sun beamed down on the dark tint of the Porsche as it rose higher into the clear blue sky. I could see Bella's watchful eyes on the sun in my peripheral vision, we were both to anxious, we had to collect ourselves so we could act quickly.

As we crept closer, the cars lining the sides of the roads began to thicken and there was a long line of pedestrians snaking up the hill towards the gothic looking city. Bella looked at me and then out at the crowd once again, it was easy to tell that she had the same concerns as I did, but I wasn't giving up just yet. I had two plans that would work if we needed them, my first was a direct approach and it was something I was going to put all my effort into, it would get us as close as we could without running over half of the populace that seemed to be filtering in towards the city.

As we rounded the switchback, the parking lot came into view, it didn't take a second look to realize that it was full to capacity. The traffic through the city gates themselves were all foot traffic, it seemed that we were out of luck, but it wasn't going to stop me from trying. I heard the leather groan and looked over to see Bella's fingernails imbedded into the dark leather of the seat she occupied.

"Alice," she whispered urgently.

"I know." I said as I turned to face the crowing crowd ahead of us. The mass of bodies were growing denser as we approached the protective stone walls of the city. There were guards ahead directing traffic. I watched the scene ahead of me as they turned away all traffic.

It suddenly occurred to me that I still had the roll of money on me, and it could be our saving grace. I concentrated on the guard that stood blocking the gate to the city. There were no cars in that space because the guard that was directing traffic turned them around in the opposite direction. It wouldn't be a problem getting around the directional guard, but as I pressed to see the reaction of the gate guard I realized I was frozen. That's when it hit me, I had made the decision to give him the money, but he hadn't been presented with the decision to take it. Of course I didn't see it. I was sure that a roll of money with a substantial amount of thousand dollar bills could change his mind. In fact, it was probably enough for him to retire on . I would have to be patient and wait for his reaction, but I was sure even the most honest of men couldn't turn down that much money to let a car slide through the gates. I did have a back up plan and I needed to make sure Bella understood in case we had to execute it.

"Bella," I spoke quickly, we were closing in on the guards now and she had to get this right or we would fail miserably. "I can't see what the guard here will decide now—if this doesn't work, you're going to have to go in alone. You're going to have to run. Just jeep asking for the Palazzo dei Priori, and running in the direction they tell you. Don't get lost."

"Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo dei Priori," she repeated as she committed it to her memory, the chanting continued under her breath.

"Or 'the clock tower,' if they speak English. I'll go around and find a secluded spot somewhere behind the city where I can go over the wall."

Bella nodded, "Palazzo dei Priori."

"Edward will be under the clock tower, to the north of the square. There's a narrow alleyway on the right, and he'll be in the shadow there. You have to get his attention before he can move into the sun."

Bella nodded with all of the effort she could muster, I was sure she was still chanting the name in her head, she didn't want to get this wrong, her heart was on the line and she wanted to save him before he made the biggest mistake of his impossibly long life.

We sat in silence as the cars moved forward, then it was us, the guard lazily waved us forward and directed us to where the previous car was U-turning, but I swiftly maneuvered around him and headed towards the gate, I looked in the mirror as he shouted and waved his arms, still trying to keep the flow of traffic behind moving correctly. I smiled at my first victory and headed towards the gate.

I wove the car cautiously through the thick crowd of people and pulled to a stop as the guard stepped directly in our path. I angled the car so that I was out of the direct sunlight and waited for him to approach the window. I reached behind me into my bag and pulled out the two lifelines I had.

The guard tapped on the window angrily, I rolled the window halfway down and smiled the most breathtaking smile I could muster. It worked he did a quick double take at me before his face relaxed from the frown he had been wearing into a charming smile.

"I'm sorry, only tour buses allowed in the city today, miss" he apologized in a heavily Italian accent, his face full of apology at disappointing me.

"It's a private tour," I smiled a little more seductively so he would melt like butter against a hot knife. I reached for his hand that had still been raised from tapping on the window, with my own gloved hand. Gloves I always carried around, they were a tan color, as close to flesh color as I could get them. I placed the rolled up money into his hand and closed his fingers around them, ever keeping a watchful eye on the eyes of the tourists surrounding the car. I was discreet enough to avoid doing this to where anyone noticed.

"Is this a joke?" he asked, accent even stronger in his confusion.

I smiled again, "Only if you think it's funny."

I could feel the nervous tremble of Bella in the passenger seat and tried to ignore it. It would be too faint for human eyes or senses, but to me it felt like we were in a boat rocking with the tide.

The guards eyes were wide as the bore into me and my smile, he was taking too long.

"I'm in a wee bit of a hurry," I said smiling, as I tried to push his decision.

The guards eyes scanned the area around him and quickly pocketed the money as he blinked twice. He stepped away from the window and that was my cue to drive. I pulled into the city and sighed, this was echoed almost simultaneously by Bella.

The narrow cobbled streets slowed us in our journey through the city, the heavy throng of pedestrians were unwilling to share the road with a car but I pressed on, we had less than five minutes and I wasn't going to let these arrogant people stop us from getting to our destination. I would drive quickly through the empty spots but slam my foot on the brakes as I reached the other side, it was infuriating. People didn't seem to appreciate my efforts either and we were screamed and shouted at in several different languages, I took a small path that seemed to cut through to one of the main streets that lead to the main square. The square that held the clock tower.

I pulled in and we found ourselves close to the walls on both sides, the people in the street weren't happy as the car pushed them into doorways as we squeezed past. There was a larger street at the end and the crowd was impossibly thick. This is where we would have to stop.

I pulled the car to a stop and Bella's door flew open, she looked at me expectantly and I knew she was ready, she would do everything in her power to get her where she needed to go. I had no doubt about this now, I could see in flashes of my mind that she would push herself to get there, and I was pretty sure that she would be successful. My heart soared, this could really work.

I pointed in the direction of where Bella needed to go, the bright sunlight, making the opening look like it had been spotlighted.

"There—we're at the southern end of the square. Run straight across, to the right of the clock tower. I'll find a way around—"

I took a deep breath at the end of the sentence and my senses were filled with their scents, they were all around us, staying in the confines of the shadows and blending in with ridiculously thick human crowd. It almost took my breath away. "They're _everywhere_!"

Bella sat rigidly in fear, I had frightened her with my exclamation, but we didn't have time for this, we were rapidly running out of time, we had mere minutes and I had to find the quickest route around the city to get to my destination, without stepping one foot in the sunlight. I pushed her out of the car quickly.

"Forget about them. You have two minutes. Go, Bella, go!" I shouted as I climbed out of the car quickly.

I watched her as she took off towards the light as quickly as her legs would carry her. I grabbed our bags from inside the car and melted into the shadows.

I stowed our bags in a quiet alley that most people seemed to afraid to come down. It was darker than most of the areas in the city, even those cast in dark shadows, it was almost as if the light itself was too afraid to penetrate the dark space. I stopped to get my bearings and find the direction I needed to travel in. I stuck to the shadows as I moved around the mazed alleys and streets, for a human this would be overly complex but my senses guided me closer to my destination, I rounded corner after corner, only doubling back if my path was blocked by the bright Tuscan sunlight.

The bell tolled it first deep echoing boomed and I froze briefly listening to the sound as it reverberated around the narrow wall lined streets, I tried to follow the direction and found myself blocked by the sun, I panicked and cursed the sun as I spun and headed back the way I'd come. I knew enough to know that each path I had taken would lead me to that small alleyway beside the clock tower, but the sun made appearances in the most inopportune moments. I finally found a break, there was a narrow alleyway leading toward the square, I knew it would fork off to give me an almost direct path to the clock tower. There was a slither of sunlight between where I stood and the alley. I looked down the street to see whether I had an audience. Everyone was heading towards the square, no one would notice me.

I smelled the air, the Volturi wouldn't take kindly to me make unnecessary risks such as this but I knew if I had a window, where I could get through unnoticed it would be alright. I could smell them still but they were at a safe distance, I was sure I wouldn't be noticed so I sprinted through the light and into the safe darkness of the alley on the other side.

The loud clanging of the bell tolled once again, the noise was louder in this confined alleyway and I sprinted through it with no fear of coming across a mortal, the alley was too dark and it looked sinister to the naked eye. I traveled along it quickly and came to a stop at a crossroads, the clanging continued as if reminding me of the impending doom.

I stopped and made a decision to travel down each, the first two lead nowhere and I prayed that the third would grant me closer access to my final destination.

As I stood still making my decision, I heard her, I heard Bella, she was moving through the crowd of the square, the faint murmuring of the crowd around her, but her shrill, desperate call could be heard above them all. I knew I wouldn't be the only one to hear this and it made the sense of urgency grow inside of me. I didn't have time to dwell on what was on the other end of the alley, I just took it and ran with every ounce of hope in me, towards the bell, Bella, and Edward.

I was blessed by good luck as I approached the end of the alleyway, ahead of me a heavily shadowed street lay, waiting for me to use it. The crowd were being herded like cattle towards the square, the celebrations were under way. Children and adults alike wore capes, crimson and the plastic fans so lovingly enhanced by the legends.

I dodged through them, the only one moving in the opposite direction, I was so close and I knew that my salvation was ahead of me, I could see it in my mind. I could also smell the ever growing scent of more vampires. I kept that in the back of my mind, I had no time to be concerned with them.

I came upon the alley and took it as quickly as I could. I was almost to the alley when I stopped. I saw it. Bella had him, she was in his arms, she'd made it. I knew I had to give them some privacy so I slowed my running to a walk and took my time. He was still trying to get to the light, he believed Bella was a vision, I found myself chuckling at his idiocy.

Bella begged and pleaded with him and I would have sped up to help if I hadn't have seen the outcome.

Edward was happy to see her and kept muttering about how quickly they had finished him and he even threw in a quote from Romeo and Juliet. I rolled my eyes. But what I saw next scared me. They had been keeping a close eye on him and were headed towards him and . . . Bella!

I picked up my pace again and headed towards the small space where Bella and Edward were lost in their short lived reunion.

I finally arrived at my destination but stopped in the shadows and listened, some of the Volturi henchmen had already caught up with them.

"Greetings, gentlemen," Edwards voice traveled down the narrow alley, his tone polite but cautious. I listened intently. "I don't think I'll be requiring your services today. I would appreciate it very much, however, if you would extend my thanks to your masters."

"Shall we take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?" a dark and menacing voice challenged.

"I don't believe that will be necessary." Edward said, an edge now very apparent in his voice. "I know your instructions, Felix. I haven't broken any rules."

"Felix merely meant to point out the proximity of the sun." a second voice added in a smooth soothing tone. "Let us seek better cover."

Apparently I had been so focused on Edward's decision's I had missed the order from one of the Volturi to follow him closely. I knew that they wouldn't be far away but I hadn't been expecting this. They were ready to pounce before he'd even executed his plan. I should have known better, but I had been more concerned about my brothers actions.

I reprimanded myself silently as I listened, it was too late to regret anything now, Edward had his life, for now. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I saw someone being dispatched to collect us and I was hoping we could avoid that, I was hoping we could get away from these two stooges before they arrived.

"I'll be right behind you," Edward said dryly. "Bella, why don't you go back to the square and enjoy the festival?"

"No bring the girl," Felix said pure malice lacing his voice.

"I don't think so." Edward had lost all civility toward the two vampires he faced.

"Felix," The second voice reasoned. "Not here." His voice was moved as he spoke to Edward. "Aro, would simply like to speak with you again, if you have decided not to force our hand after all."

"Certainly," Edward agreed, "but the girl goes free."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," The second voice spoke with regret. "We do have rules to obey."

"Then _I'm_ afraid I'll be unable to accept Aro's invitation, Demetri."

"That's just fine." Felix was enjoying the game.

"Aro will be disappointed," Demetri sighed.

"I'm sure he'll survive the letdown," Edward replied

I could hear the light footsteps of the two vampires as they approached Bella and Edward. Edward made no attempt to move, I was sure that he was protecting Bella. I knew I had to make a move and I rounded the corner quietly. Edward was the first to hear me because I called to him.

'_Edward, it's me, we have to get out of here, Aro has dispatched someone to bring us back.'_

Edward's head whipped in my direction, Followed almost directly by Felix and Demetri.

"Lets behave ourselves shall we?" I sang as I approached them. "There are ladies present."

I stepped to Edward's side keeping as relaxed as I possibly could.

'_I didn't see them, I'm sorry.'_ I said to Edward in my head as I stopped.

Demetri and Felix straightened and Felix scowled at me in disgust, I was sure that the even numbers bothered him.

"We're not alone," I reminded them giving a subtle nod in the direction of the people that were now glancing nervously down the alley. The woman was talking hurriedly to her husband.

Demetri shook his head. "Please, Edward, lets be reasonable." he asked.

"Let's," Edward agreed. "And we'll leave quietly now, with no one the wiser."

Demetri's frustration was growing and my urgency was becoming greater as the threat approached with alarming speed. I left my vision open for Edward to see. The look in his eyes told me he recognized the person Aro had sent.

Demetri sighed. "At least let us discuss this more privately,"

The crowd in the square was growing now, and the members of our group were losing their patience.

"No." Edwards teeth snapped together.

Felix smiled, I'm sure he would have appreciated the brute strength he would have to use to 'convince' Edward to comply.

My heart sunk as the new guard joined us. _'They're here Edward.'_ I said quickly.

"Enough." A high reedy voice called out and I could tell by Edward's stance he'd given up. The tiny black haired girl appeared from the shadows, her crimson eyes boring holes into each of us as our heads turned in her direction.

Felix and Demetri backed off immediately, slinking back into the cover of the shadows. The small girl advanced towards us gracefully. She was a child, small and quaint, her short dark hair framed her face and her eyes glowed and she eyed each of us suspiciously, lingering on Bella and Edward.

"Jane." Edward said shattering the silence.

I folded my arms across my chest, _'Who is this Edward? Why is everyone so complacent . . . oh never mind.' _I stopped the conversation mid thought, as little Jane made a decision. She wanted to play with Edward, but her master wouldn't let her. She had one of the formidable gifts I had mentioned to Bella. She had the gift of pain. I just wasn't sure how it worked.

"Follow Me," Jane demanded of us and I knew as soon as she drifted into the dark and Edward made a move to follow, we had no choice. Felix gestured for us to move first, a smug look claiming features.

I followed immediately there was obviously no getting out of this. I looked and tried to attune myself to Aro once again, there was obviously a plan. I saw nothing but Edward in the room, he hadn't been expecting Bella and I, this wasn't a good thing, it left the future blank until we were in front of him. I wasn't sure of our chances. Bella appeared next to me, Edward, arm around her waist was positioned on her other side.

The alley narrowed as we ventured further down it, Bella watched Edward helplessly as he guided her towards Jane who was a little way ahead of us.

"Well, Alice," Edward said conversationally. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you here."

"It was my mistake," I kept the conversational pretense. "It was my job to set it right."

'_What the hell were you thinking coming here? I specifically told Rosalie I was going to make sure I was right, she had no right to call you, but you were stupid to jump to conclusions.' _I continued in my head. I knew that I had been wrong about Bella, which is why I had apologized out loud to him, but he needed to see the error in his judgement at the same time. I had no need to say that aloud.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice polite, he was being cautious of the two behind us who were listening intently to our conversation.

"It's a long story," I looked at Bella, she didn't need to feel embarrassed in a situation like this so I summarized before continuing in my head. "In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn't trying to kill herself. Bella's all about the extreme sports these days."

'_Edward, I know you're upset I brought her here but you wouldn't have believed me. You would have believed that I would tell you anything to stop you. This was my only option, and I really couldn't have stopped her if I wanted to she was prepared to use her college fund to get here on her own. You wouldn't believe the state I found her in, Charlie was devastated, the doctors were talking about hospitalizing her because she was in such bad shape._

_Oh, and her best friend is a werewolf, a young werewolf at that and from what I can tell I can't see their futures. They snuck up on me a couple of times while I was in Forks, not to mention that this was why I didn't see her get out of the water, she was saved by a wolf._

_A couple of times actually, they also saved her from Laurent and Victoria, but I'm not getting into that right now, we need to make it out of here alive. I promised Jasper I would come home!'_

"Hm," Edward said all casual tones disappeared. I knew he was holding onto everything i had told him and I was sure I had pushed the guilt that he was obviously feeling at our danger, especially Bella's. She was more vulnerable in this situation that any other we had been in. We had no power over this situation and the outcome depended solely on these three ancient vampires.

We followed the curve of the alley as it continued downward. Bella was nervous and kept a tight hold around Edward's waist trembling occasionally. I looked forward and realized where we would be going, there was an open drain ahead of us and I knew that's where the little cherub faced devil had disappeared to.

Without hesitation I jumped into the hole and let myself fall, steadying myself as I landed squarely on my feet, I saw Edward and Bella above me.

"It's all right, Bella," I heard Edward's voice soothing her. "Alice will catch you."

Bella's legs appeared slowly in the narrow gap. "Alice?" her voice came as a trembling whisper above me.

"I'm right here, Bella," I tried to reassure her.

Edward took her wrists and lowered her into the hole slowly, I positioned myself directly beneath her, arms poised to catch her as she fell.

"Ready?" Edward called from above.

"Drop her," I called planting my legs wide apart awaiting the impact.

Her limp form dropped straight into my arms and I stood her upright and gently moved her to the side to give Edward room to land. Bella looked around the cold damp space, but became distracted as the light was stolen as Edward jumped through the gap. I looked ahead of us, and could see nothing. Jasper's face filled my thoughts as I imagined how he would react if this were to turn out badly, my entire body felt odd from the pain and pure despair I was feeling.

I caught Edward glancing at me briefly. '_I'm sorry, I should be more optimistic. I'll stop I promise.' _I thought as I shook off the dread that had cocooned me.

Edward nodded once and continued through the stony damp room, footsteps echoing making even thought difficult. I watched as Bella and Edward interacted. It was obvious that the connection between them was more than mere love and they had tried to ignore it but I knew that nothing could keep them apart now. Their futures were bound together.

The three of us followed the faint footfalls of Jane ahead of us, we didn't know what lay ahead of us. We walked deeper and deeper into the stone room, the slant downward was a little disorientating. Bella seemed to stumble a little in the darkness, I knew how hard it must be not having the vision that we do and being stuck in an area like this, claustrophobic came to mind.

Bella's trembling had become shaking, I hadn't realized how wet her clothes were and I was sure that this underground dwelling wasn't the warmest place to be. Edward let go of her, concerned about the loss of body heat, but she immediately wrapped her arms around his waist.

"N-n-no," she said through chattering teeth, Edward rubbed her arm gently as I kept my eyes on the path ahead of us.

The vampires behind us were growing restless with the human speed at which we traveled and they voiced their distaste with sighs and grunts, I wanted nothing more than to turn around and tell them to move ahead if it bothered them so much. I held my tongue. Antagonizing the Volturi and their guard wouldn't have been the brightest idea at this juncture, I had to keep my cool, we would be out numbered beyond comprehension and I was sure some of the talents possessed by the favorites could annihilate us without pause. it was best to keep a cool head.

As we walked further into the darkness I could see a grate, the thick iron bars were rusting and in the middle lay a door, which now stood open. Edward ducked through pulling Bella through with him, I followed closely and waited for the clang as they pulled the door shut behind us.

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**A/N: Hello, Hope you enjoyed the chapter. . . so much longer than i had planned but I noticed that doesn't really bother you all that much :)**

**Thank you for all of the Reviews and the Alerts and stuff, you are an inspiration. YOU ROCK GUYS SERIOUSLY.**

Ok don't forget MTV has a scene from the Twilight movie - It's international so check local listings :)

big hugz

-L


	25. Chapter 24 Volturi

_All things Twilight belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer_

**_Songs For Thought:_**

_Archetype - Fear Factory, Bound & Tied - Creed, Self Deception - Lacuna Coil_

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**Chapter Twenty-Four - Volturi**

On the other side of the gate was a long room with a heavy wooden door standing at the opposite end. We made our way towards the open door and stepped through into a brightly lit hallway. It was a very plain and could have been in any professional building, but it made my skin crawl. Jane stood at the end of the corridor beside the lone elevator. Edward was as tense as I was but Bella seemed lulled into a false sense of security. The warmth and familiarity of the corridor seemed to ease her fear.

Edward and I headed towards the elevator, Edward pulled Bella gently with him. The door behind us creaked as it was closed and the bolt scraped as it was pushed closed. The sound was ominous and Bella jumped, seemingly shocked back into the reality of the situation.

Jane waited by the elevator, as we approached her expression was impassive. The door slid open before we reached her but we entered silently. Jane, Demetri and Felix relaxed as they pushed their hoods from their heads and let them fall to their shoulders. Each of the three had crimson irises. Bella cringed away from them and into Edward, his arm still moved along her arm methodically rubbing, trying to ease her worry, however, his eyes never strayed far from Jane. I was knew that he was dubious of her and the reaction aroused my curiosity. I was more focused on the thought of Felix, he was trying to decide how he would kill Bella. His decisions at the moment were to kill her slowly in front of Edward, forcing him to watch her writhe in pain, and then kill Edward. he had no thoughts of me, but I was not comforted.

When the doors slid open a very upscale reception sat in front of us. A lone desk sat in the middle of the room with a human receptionist sat behind it. She was a tall well dressed Italian girl, who looked completely comfortable surrounded by the five vampires that just walked into the room.

She smiled politely at us as we ventured further into the room.

"Good afternoon, Jane."

Jane nodded in acknowledgment, "Gianna" she continued to a set of double doors at the back of the room, we followed, there was obviously no need for a formal announcement when Jane was present.

On the other side of the doors a pale boy, the same age as Jane, in a pearl gray suit greeted us. He reached for the small girl, "Jane."

As they stood in close proximity of one another it was obvious that they were twins, I shuddered to think what the two of them would be capable of it they were left to roam free with no ruling. Their sweet angelic faces could easily lure in anybody, and I'm sure with their lithe movements they would be capable of massacring a small village. Edward glanced over at me as these thoughts crossed my mind, I shrugged defensively.

"Alec," she responded, embracing him. They kissed one another's cheeks in greeting. Alec then turned to face us. His eyes lit up in pleasure.

"They send you out for one and you come back with two . . . and a half." He eyed Bella curiously. "Nice work."

Jane giggled, sugary sweet and full of pride.

"Welcome back, Edward." Alec said happily. "You seem in a better mood."

"Marginally." Answered Edward, showing no emotion. I knew how his mood had improved, but Bella looked at him curiously. I'm sure she was wondering how foul his mood had been considering he was in such a foreboding somberness now.

Alec chuckled as if Edward had told a fabulous joke, but his gaze turned to Bella, she immediately shied away and hid closer to Edward, his arms still tight around her waist gladly held her closer.

"And this is the cause of all the trouble?" Alec asked skeptically.

Edward smiled disdainfully, then his entire body froze. I knew my brother well enough to know that he'd picked up someone's thoughts and he hadn't liked what he'd heard.

"Dibs," Felix called from behind us and I watched as Edward turned slowly, a indignant snarl building in his chest. This was why he had frozen, I was sure Felix had been thinking about his little plan. One I had heard whilst Edward had been preoccupied listening to Jane's thoughts in the elevator.

Felix smiled iniquitously—he raised his hand, palm up and curled his fingers twice, he was trying to provoke Edward.

I saw an immediate flash of a very brutal fight with no winner and I knew that it was worthless and nonsensical. They would have their fight in time, but this was not the time or the place. I rested my hand on Edward's arm. "Patience."

Edward turned to look at me. '_You will have your chance with him Edward, but if we have any hope of getting of here, with Bella and our lives, we need to play it cool. He will be yours one day. Of that, dear brother, I am certain.'_

Edward took a deep breath to calm his anger and turned back to Alec.

"Let's not keep him waiting," Jane suggested, smiling peacefully. She obviously enjoyed the little exchange between Felix and my brother. For a woman with the body of a small child she was twisted and very sadistic. Not that it surprised me.

Edward nodded once to acknowledge her words.

Alec and Jane, holding hands, led the way down another wide and ornate hall there were a pair of large doors at the end of the hall, they were gold and gaudy, but we didn't get close to them. We stopped halfway down the hall and Alec stepped forward and slid a piece of paneling to the side, revealing a small wooden door. He opened it and held it open for Jane. The room was made of ancient stone once again and the temperature dropped. Bella didn't looked pleased at the change of scenery and clung to Edward as we made our way through it. Thankfully, it was not a large room. It opened up into a cavernous, round room. That looked very much like the turrets that can be seen from outside the walls of the city. The light was brighter and more natural than that of any other room we had passed through. I looked around for the source of light and found that there were long thin rectangles letting the natural light flood the room. They were high enough that there could be no vision of the room or it's occupants from the outside. There were three chairs in the room, all ancient and made from a sturdy wood. They would definitely be considered antiques.

There was a small group of people gathered in the room, they were talking quietly amongst themselves about nothing of consequence. The conversation halted and all eyes were trained on us as we entered the room, most were dressed as casually as humans, and there was one of the three original Volturi, dressed in a long flowing robe and looking frail. I was amazed at the appearance of his skin. I had never seen anything like it.

"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" his voice was softer than any I had heard before. He moved surreptitiously across the floor with a poise and grace that even I found astounding. The group moved forward collectively and I watched as they all peered at us curiously. Each of the red eyes following our every movement. Aro glided towards Jane and held her small face in his delicate looking hands and kissed her lips, before stepping back.

"Yes, master." Jane smiled, happy with the compliment that had obviously been paid to her. "I brought him back alive, as you wished."

"Ah, Jane." He smiled happily as if his favorite dog had brought his newspaper. "You are such a comfort to me."

Aro then looked towards us, his expression brightening exponentially as he realized Edward, was in fact, not alone.

"And Alice and Bella, too!" he added gleefully clapping his hands together. "This _is_ a happy surprise! Wonderful!"

I smiled trying to be polite as possible, he had greeted us like friends he hadn't seen in a long time. It wasn't a comforting feeling though, his over friendliness made me nervous and I kept my wits about me.

Aro looked at Felix and smiled. "Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers of our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this."

"Yes, Master." Felix nodded and disappeared through the door.

"You see Edward?" Aro said, as if he'd known all along that we'd show up in Volterra to take him home. "Aren't you glad that I didn't give you what you wanted yesterday?"

"Yes, Aro, I am." Edward answered obediently, but pulled Bella tighter to him defensively.

"I love a happy ending." Aro sighed happily. "They are so rare. But I want the whole story. How did this happen? Alice?"

He turned the full force of his gaze on me, curiosity spread behind his eyes. "Your brother seems to think you infallible, but apparently there was some mistake."

"Oh, I'm far from infallible." I smiled at him genuinely. I was trying to keep my stature relaxed, I wasn't sure how successful I was because my entire body felt numb to me, I wasn't sure if it was from fear or anticipation. "As you can see today, I cause problems as often as I cure them."

"You're too modest," Aro reproved. "I've seen some of your more amazing exploits, and I must admit I've never observed anything like your talent. Wonderful!"

I looked towards Edward, I wanted to make sure he would hear me. '_What the hell is this, have they been keeping tabs on us or something, how could he possibly know. Did you tell him?'_

"I'm sorry," Aro said as he grinned mischievously. "We haven't been introduced properly have we? It's just that I feel like I know you already, and I tend to get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday, in a peculiar way. You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not."

Aro shook his head.

"And also exponentially more powerful." Edward added.

'_What's that supposed to mean?'_ I asked him

"Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he hears much more than I do. You know I can only hear what's passing through your head in the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had."

'_He knows everything you have ever thought, even back to when you were human? Does that include our entire family and their histories? Every vision? Everything?'_ I asked silently in my mind. It was the safest place to ask questions right now. I could feel my eyebrows raise with the question.

Edward inclined his head in answer. Aro didn't miss the gesture.

"But to be able to hear from a distance . . ." Aro sighed acknowledge the exchange we had just traded. "That would be so _convenient_."

Aro looked past us and I could hear the shuffling of the vampires entering the room. I took the opportunity to see whether or not Aro had made a decision. I looked hard but all I could see were the questions he wanted to ask, he hadn't made a decision about our fates. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. I followed the gaze of everyone else in the room and saw Felix entering with Caius and Marcus. The two elder vampires were similar to Aro, Marcus had long flowing dark hair and a scowl that seemed permanently etched on his snow white skin. Caius had snow white hair. Both wore long black robes that swept the floor around their feet as they walked. I knew the names well, Carlisle had spoken of them fondly, and now, here they were in the flesh, deciding our fate.

"Marcus, Caius, look!" Aro crooned. "Bella is alive after all, and Alice is here with her! Isn't that wonderful?"

Both Marcus and Caius looked indifferent, they were not interested in us, in fact, they looked disgusted about having to share the same air as us. Marcus looked bored, almost as though he were annoyed at having been disturbed. Caius was none to happy either.

Aro ignored their lack of enthusiasm.

"Let us have the story," Aro chimed happily. Caius moved away and headed towards the only furniture in the room, a small gathering of people followed him. Marcus paused next to Aro and touched his hand with his fingers, he was telling him his thoughts. Aro raised one of his brows.

Edward snorted at the exchange and I looked at him curiously.

'_What was that for? Was he telling him his thoughts? Before you ask I have checked what they plan to do with us and Aro, up to this point, hasn't made any other decision than to ask us questions. We need to get out of this Edward, do you understand me? Hold your temper.'_

"Thank you, Marcus," Aro said, "That was quite interesting."

Marcus, still looking just as indifferent as he had when he had entered the room, sauntered away and sat himself next to Caius. His entourage following closely.

My eyes strayed back to Aro who was shaking his head in wonder. "Amazing. Absolutely amazing."

I could feel my frustration, I couldn't understand what was going on and I didn't like that one little bit. Edward, immediately seeing my frustration turned to me. His voice was low.

"Marcus sees relationships. He's surprised by the intensity of ours."

"So convenient." Aro said to himself regretfully, he turned his red eyes back to us. "It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you."

I watched Bella as she glanced quickly at Marcus, who was now sitting in his throne regally. The one thing Carlisle had failed to tell us, was how arrogant each of these men were. They had all, at one point, been friends with our father. And the rude and condescending manner in which they were treating us, caused me to wonder how such a friendship would have formed. Carlisle had such a gentle heart, I couldn't see him being so callous.

"It's just so difficult to understand, even now," Aro stated as he stared curiously at Edward's arm around Bella's waist.

'_Edward,'_ I shouted at him in my mind. '_Come on we need to think of a way out of this."_

"How can you stand so close to her like that?" Aro asked curiously.

"It's not without effort," Edward was keeping his calm like I had asked him too.

"But still—_la tua cantante!_ What a waste!"

"I look at it more as a price." Edward chuckled humorlessly.

"A very high price."

"Opportunity cost."

"If I hadn't smelled her through your memories, I wouldn't have believed the call of anyone's blood could be so strong. I've never felt anything like it myself. Most of us would trade much for such a gift, and yet you . . ." Aro laughed.

"Waste it," Edward's voice concluded sarcastically. He was losing his patience.

Aro laughed again. "Ah, how I miss my friend Carlisle! You remind me of him—only he was not so angry."

"Carlisle outshines me in many other ways as well."

"I certainly never thought to see Carlisle bested for self-control of all things, but you put him to shame."

"Hardly," Edward was growing ever impatient at the constant goading from Aro. Bella looked nervous at his tone.

"I am gratified by his success, your memories of him are quite a gift for me, though they astonish me exceedingly. I am surprised by how it . . . _pleases_ me, his success in this unorthodox path he's chosen. I expected that he would waste, weaken with time, I'd scoffed at his plan to find others who would share his peculiar vision. Yet, somehow, I'm happy to be wrong." Aro sang happily.

Edward said nothing, his temper was rising. '_Calm Edward, please. Remember who you have stood next to you! I understand your frustrations, but please take a breath and calm down."_

"But _your_ restraint!" Aro continued. "I did not know such strength was possible. To inure yourself against such a siren call, not just once but again and again—if I had not felt it myself, I would not have believed."

Edward, concentrating keeping his anger at bay, stood silently and expressionless. I knew that he never wanted Bella to hear those words. He had explained to her it was difficult and that her blood was, indeed, more tempting than most. But he had never wanted her to hear how painful it had always been for him, how much of a struggle he endured to be with her. That he was in constant battle with himself, his love battling his thirst.

But what Aro failed to mention was how love, consistently won. His love for her was now so much stronger that when ever the craving arose, he would battle it with every ounce of love he held for her. It was truly poetic.

"Just remembering how she appeals to you . . ." Aro chuckled. "It makes me thirsty."

I saw every muscle in Edwards body tense. _'Edward, he's enjoying this, don't give him the satisfaction. You're stronger than that.'_ I encouraged as Aro watched the change in stature.

"Don't be disturbed," Aro reassured him. "I mean her no harm. But I am _so_ curious, about one thing in particular." He eyes fluttered over Bella, his expression was curious, there seemed to be no malice in his approach. "May I?" he asked lifting a hand towards Bella.

I held my breath and watched closely, I eyed the future trying to see what he was going to do. I let the breath out of my lungs as I realized he wanted to try and read her mind. I watched Edward closely, his jaw clenched angrily.

"Ask _her_," Edward answered.

"Of course, how rude of me! Bella," He turned directly to her. "I'm fascinated that you are the one exception to Edward's impressive talent—so very interesting that such a thing should occur! And I was wondering, since our talents are similar in many ways, if you would be so kind as to allow me to try—to see if you are and exception for _me_, as well?"

Bella looked to Edward for an answer, I could tell she was scared. Her eyes always grew larger. Edward tried to nod encouragingly but I knew he was just as anxious. Bella turned toward Aro again and held out her trembling hand. Aro excitedly glided closer, his face wearing the confidence that he would be the exception to the rule. He pressed his palm against Bella's, his expression held but dropped once he realized that he was, as was Edward, unable to read anything passing through her mind. I had a flicker of hope shoot through me as I saw Aro's curiosity grow. He was intrigued with Bella, he wanted to learn more about her. Once again, the word wasteful fluttered through his mind, but this was unusual. I tried to see if I could grasp at the outcome but it disappeared as his thoughts came back to the task at hand, testing Bella.

"So very interesting." He said as he dropped her hand gently and stepped back.

Bella and I both looked at Edward, there was a trace of smugness about him as he listened to Aro's thoughts. As I had already guessed, he hadn't heard a thing.

Aro was lost in thought, his eyes flickered between us as if in contemplation. He shook it off, literally before continuing.

"A first," He said quietly. "I wonder is she immune to our other talents . . . Jane, dear?"

"No!" Edward's temper flared immediately. I grabbed his arm quickly, I had to stop this, as much as I loved Bella, I knew her mind was locked and I had no doubt, this little girl could do her no harm. Edward, I wasn't so sure about. '_Edward, stop. You know Bella's mind is locked. What is it about this child that has you so. . .'_ I stopped as he shook my hand from him.

"Yes, Master?" Jane smiled up at Aro, pleasure written across her miniature features.

Edward was snarling now, his anger boiling over, his glance was trained heavily on Aro. I tried to watch his decisions, I wanted to try and stop him but he was acting on pure instinct, his only thought process was to protect Bella. There was no other decision. The room had turned their full attention to unraveling scene in front of them.

Felix took a step forward, towards Edward a hopeful look on his face as he eyed Edward's snarling lips. Aro looked at him once, a direct order shone from his eyes and Felix froze, his lips wore his sulk.

Aro spoke directly to Jane, ignoring the snarls emitting from Edward. "I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to _you_."

Edward dropped his arm from Bella's waist and stepped in front of her. I saw Caius move towards us with his group to get a better look at the scene.

I saw it too late, "Don't.' I cried as Edward lunged at the little girl, but he was no more than a foot away from us when he dropped to the ground. No one had had time to react to his movements, but the smile on little Jane's face told the story, she had intervened, she was the reason he was on the ground writhing in pain. She was getting her wish. Edward's agony was apparent on his face but he suffered it in silence. It seemed Jane's gift was indeed pain, and Edward was feeling every inch of it.

"Stop!" Bella shrieked and I moved the instant she made her decision. I caught her around the waist and held her, her fighting was futile against my strength. Bella's moans of torture escaped her, it was the pain of watching Edward suffer. I wasn't sure how much longer it would go on, I myself felt the need to close my eyes, the torturous expression in Edward's eyes was sickening. But he would survive it. I also knew when Aro had decided to stop it.

"Jane," Aro spoke her name as if she were merely playing with a doll, and he wished for her attention. Her eyes were immediately on her master and a happy grin sat upon her lips. Edward stilled the moment her watchful eyes were away from him.

Aro inclined his head to Bella. I shuddered. I hoped I had been right about the effect of Jane's little gift not working on Bella, because she was about to be tested.

Jane's smiled turned fully to Bella, but Bella's attention was still on Edward, and she struggled to break free of the small encircling prison of my arms. '_Edward, if you can hear me get up, Jane is about to try her little gift on Bella.'_

"He's fine," I whispered into her ear. I watched as Edward sat up and jumped to his feet at my words. His face was filled with the horror of what was about to happen to Bella, but I nodded gently in the direction of Jane, she'd already started. His eyes followed my gaze, he realized that Jane was already trying, and he relaxed making his way back to us.

I turned once again to focus on Jane, who's adorable smile had now turned into a steely glare, she was focusing all of her efforts on Bella. This, apparently, was also a first for her. Bella stood preparing herself for the pain that never came. Edward stepped in beside Bella, and tapped my arm gently so that I could release her into his care. I withdrew my arms, never taking my eyes from the scene ahead of us.

Aro laughed heartily at the outcome of his little test. "This is wonderful!"

Jane hissed through her teeth and began leaning into an offensive stance.

"Don't be put out, dear one," Aro comforted her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "She confounds us all."

Jane's lip curled in anger, I was sure this came from the young age her body had been when she was changed, she was acting like a spoilt child, unable to get her way.

Aro chuckled heartily again, "You're very brave, Edward, to endure in silence. I asked Jane to do that to me once—just out of curiosity." He shook his head again.

Edward wore his disgust in his glare, he wasn't entertained.

"So what do we do with you now?" Aro sighed, and I froze. This is what we had been waiting for. I looked into Aro's decisions, he intentions were actually reasonable.

"I don't suppose there's any chance you've changed your mind?" Aro directed at Edward hopefully. "Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company."

Felix and Jane grimaced, they were in my line of sight. They didn't enjoy the idea of having Edward as a member of their exclusive little group.

"I'd . . . rather . . . not." Edward said, each word coming out as though well thought about.

"Alice?" my insides turned as he said my name. "Would you perhaps be interested in joining with us?"

"No, thank you," I answered editing my answer considerably, it wouldn't do to be impolite when we were at a possible crossroads.

"And you Bella?" Aro raised his eyebrows.

Edward's hiss was faint, and Bella stared incredulously at Aro, her eyes blinking quickly in disbelief. The silence was deafening.

Caius broke the silence first. "What?" his voice was quiet but stern, that's when I saw what he wanted to happen to us. He wasn't as reasonable as Aro, he wanted some kind of punishment for our actions. In his mind, we had broken the cardinal rule of vampirism, a human knew about us and existed among us as though nothing were unusual.

"Caius, surely you see the potential," Aro chastised playfully. "I haven't seen prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

Caius looked away and Jane's expression was murderous, she hadn't enjoyed the reference at all. I could hear Edward's low growl building. '_Edward, please. This could be our only way out. Let this play out, I have an idea._' I hoped he would listen to me, and if not to me, to the pleading look Bella was giving him.

"No, thank you," Bella's voice cracked in fear as she whispered her answer.

"That's unfortunate. Such a waste." Aro sighed in defeat, I wasn't sure what he was thinking, he still had made another decision.

Edward once again lost his temper, I fought the urge to reprimand him in my mind, something in his tone stopped me. "Join or die, is that it?" he hissed vehemently. "I suspected as much when we were brought to _this_ room. So much for your laws."

My previous frustration disappeared. I could see what he was planning, he'd made his decision while speaking, he was using their laws against them. It seemed to work, Aro seemed perplexed at the sudden outburst, no matter how controlled it had come about.

"Of course not. We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."

"Aro," Caius saw right through the words Edward had spoken, but I imagined he would have a difficult time changing Aro's mind once I had executed my plan. "The law claims them."

Edward, still on track turned to Caius, "How so?" He was forcing him to say it aloud, there was no chance he hadn't heard what was running through Caius' mind.

Caius pointed a finger at Bella, "She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets."

"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well." Edward threw back at him.

"Yes," He agreed. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not,"

"I wouldn't—" Bella started but was cut off by Caius' Icy stare.

"Nor do you intend to make her one of us." he continued. "Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only _her_ life is forfeit. You may leave if you wish."

Edward bared his teeth. '_Edward, no, please. Let me try something._'

"That's what I thought." Caius concluded, pleasure of his victory evident. Felix edged forward eagerly.

"Unless . . ." Aro started, he seemed genuinely unhappy at the turn of events. But I was going to reassure him. I had already seen it and it would work. "Unless you do intend to give her immortality?"

Edward, pressed his lips together in his frustration, as much as his disliked the thought. It was possibly our only lifeline. "And if I do?"

Aro smiled, once again happy at the turn of events. "Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carlisle." he hesitated before delivering his bad news. "But I'm afraid you would have to mean it."

Aro held his hand up, he was planning on going through Edward's mind. Although I knew Edward would, at this precise moment in time have trouble agreeing, I knew this was my cue. I watched as Caius relaxed at the gesture.

Edward stared down at Bella, he was making decisions quickly again, he was trying to decide whether he could do it. I knew he would eventually but I was afraid the pressure was too much for him. He could never change her because he felt threatened, and he had always wanted it to be her decision. Them forcing the decision upon him made it more difficult. I was giving him time to do this his way but we were running out of options.

"Mean it," Bella whispered to him. "Please."

Edward was still staring at Bella, his expression pained as he tried to make the decision. He was still flipping backwards and forwards. We were out of time, it was up to me now. I stepped forward towards Aro. His guards immediately prepared for action. I lifted my hand to mirror his. I had all of the visions in my head, every one of them. I knew that they would come about, no matter how hesitant Edward was at this moment.

Aro waved his guard back and let me approach, he walked towards me and we met halfway. He took my hand eagerly. I felt a pulling sensation in my mind as he pulled the thoughts and memories from me. I patiently relived every memory in my head as he searched for the one he was most eager to find. Then there they were, dozens of them, all of Bella changing, each situation slightly different but each outcome the same. The last one came as a surprise to me, Edward had made a decision, he was going to do it, but he had plans to execute before he did.

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**A/N: Sorry super long Chapter, still not sure how I feel about it.**

**Thank you to all those of you who reviewed and added me to your alerts. YOU ROCK! :) **

**8 Weeks until Breaking Dawn :) link to playlist in my profile, I'm up to almost a hundred songs, how crazy is that?**

** I'm hoping to have Alice back in Jasper's arms by the next Chapter, I think I'm starting to miss him too lol**


	26. Chapter 25 My Love

_All things Twilight belong to the Talented Stephenie Meyer_

_**Chapter Songs:** _

_Weathered - Creed, Tranquilize - The Killers (Feat. Lou Reed), There For You - Flyleaf_

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**Chapter Twenty-Five - My Love**

Aro seemed pleased with the revelation of Edward's plans but he hadn't finished digging through my mind, it was almost like an addiction to him now. He sifted through each of my visions, every vision I had ever seen. I saw them all again too, each moving like they were on a reel spinning too fast to speculate on the contents. I was sure, that the speed in which things were flowing were due to Aro's expertise of reading, I was sure his complex mind could decipher every image shown. I also considered that he was looking for something. I wasn't sure what, and I was almost positive I didn't want to help him, so I stopped thinking.

Somewhere amongst the speeding memories, I let myself relax, I tried not to relive every thought I'd ever had, it seemed like a pointless exercise. With my relaxation, my senses returned. I was aware the room surrounding us had turned silent in the anticipation, Aro, however seemed oblivious.

After what felt like a lifetime to me, the thoughts and memories began to slow, I was acutely aware that they had turned to black. The black wall that I had so often encountered when I tried to remember my human life, when I tried to remember who had freed me from my prison. It seemed even Aro's skill could not unlock that door.

I opened my eyes to see Aro's head bent over our hands. The whole room was staring at us expectantly. I waited silently.

Aro's hearty laughed filled the large room, he looked up, his eyes were filled with the excitement of what he had just seen. "That was _fascinating_!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." I said, not sharing his enthusiasm.

"To see the things you've seen—especially the ones that haven't happened yet!" he shook his head emphasizing his amazement.

"But that will," I reminded him. My voice came out calm but in my head it was delighted '_We saw the decision Edward_._'_

"Yes, yes, it's quite determined. Certainly there's no problem."

Caius didn't seem happy about the confirmation and Felix and Jane seemed to mutually agree.

"Aro," Caius complained.

"Dear Caius," Aro smiled. I knew that once he had seen what I had to show him, he would be less inclined to side with Caius. I was glad that I was, once again, right. "Do not fret. Think of the possibilities! They do not join us today, but we can always hope for the future. Imagine the joy young Alice alone would bring to our little household . . ." I inwardly shuddered at the thought. "Besides, I'm so terribly curious to see how Bella turns out!"

'_Edward, I think we did it. I think we got out of here._' I froze when I was slapped with a vision. They were convened to feed. I looked at Edward hoping he had seen the vision. The slight movement of his eyes made me realize he had. I looked to Bella, she seemed to be sinking into a pool of depression. I couldn't understand what was wrong, but I didn't have time to worry about that just yet. We had to get out of this room. '_Edward, they're close, you have to say something now. We're running out of time._'

"Then are we free to go now?" Edward asked, he'd heard my frantic begging.

"Yes, yes," Aro sang to us in happiness. "But please visit again. It's been absolutely enthralling!"

"And we shall visit you as well." Caius threatened, he was not happy about the turn of events that had just occurred. This wasn't my main concern right now though."To be sure that you follow through on your side. Were I you, I would not delay too long. We do not offer second chances."

Edward nodded once in acknowledgment, his jaw tight from the threatening words.

Caius smirked and drifted back towards Marcus who was still sat in his chair, disinterested in anything unveiling around him

Felix seemed disappointed, gone was his little game. Not a hint of it left in his mind. He groaned audibly.

"Ah, Felix." Aro was amused at his theatrics. "Heidi will be here at any moment. Patience."

"Hmm." Edward now stepped in hurrying along the farewell. Another flicker of the oncoming group had flickered through my head quickly, Aro's words making the situation all the more urgent. "In that case, perhaps we'd better leave sooner rather than later." he concluded.

"Yes," Aro agreed. "That's a good idea. Accidents _do_ happen. Please wait below until after dark, though, if you don't mind."

"Of course." Edward agreed. I could see Bella wasn't enthralled at the idea of spending more time in the company of the Volturi or their home.

"And here." Aro added motioning to Felix with one finger. Felix obeyed his command and stepped forward. Aro unfastened the gray cloak from around his neck and pulled it from around his shoulders. He threw it to Edward. "Take this, you're a little conspicuous."

Edward threw the cloak around his shoulders and fastened it, leaving the hood down. Aro sighed.

"It suits you."

Edward was chuckling when he stopped abruptly, with the aid of my astonishingly strong vision and the sounds coming from beyond the walls, we realized our cue to leave was upon us. Once again we were running out of time.

"Thank you, Aro. We'll wait below."

"Goodbye, young friends." Aro sang, he could also hear the approaching group and I was beginning to wonder if he was above drooling. I closed my eyes and saw the group almost to the outer chamber. We had to move fast to get Bella out of here. This whole experience had been traumatic enough, without witnessing the lambs being led to slaughter.

"Let's go." Said Edward, full of urgency.

Demetri motioned for us to follow him, it seemed we were leaving the way we came in. This would complicate things. There was no hiding the scene from Bella now, they were too close. Edward pulled Bella along and I flanked her other side.

'Not fast enough." I muttered across Bella to Edward. He would know what I meant. Bella's wide brown eyes turned on me, her heartbeat rose.

The room filled with the sound of talking, Bella's head swung in their direction, I knew she could hear it, but I was sure it still wasn't as clear to her as it was to us. The group made their way through the doors and Demetri motioned for us to move aside to make room. We stepped against the wall. Each member of the group was chatting to the member next to them. They seemed confused as though they had no idea what had brought them to this specific room.

Some of the faces were turning to fear as they looked at us, I was sure that their minds were chattering away at themselves and I didn't envy Edward one iota.

Bella's eyes followed as a woman in the back, seemingly alone looked scared. I tried not to focus on her, hoping that Bella would do the same.

"Welcome guests! Welcome to Volterra!" Aro's voice could be heard as he greeted his meal. We had to get Bella out now, they were hungry and the smell was now torturing them.

Bella's eyes were following a small woman at the end of the group, she was grasping at a rosary. She was touching someone in front of her trying to get answers, she was asking in Greek 'Where are we? Who are these people?'

She was scared and the more people ignored her, the more fearful she became. Edward pulled Bella to him, but the look of recognition hadn't been lost on me, she knew why these people were here.

A small break appeared and we dashed towards it, we couldn't keep what was happening from Bella any longer, but we could stop her hearing it and witnessing it. Bella's face was frozen in horror and the tears pooled in her eyes threatening to spill over.

We got through the door and into the ornate hallway without incident. The hallway was quiet but there was a tall, beautiful vampire making her way towards us. She stared at Bella with curiosity.

"Welcome home, Heidi," Demetri's voice carried over us.

Heidi smiled at the welcome. She was dressed provocatively, I assumed she had been the one to lure the unsuspecting tourists. It's what beauty like that was good for.

"Demetri," she replied her face still curiously flickering between Edward and Bella.

"Nice fishing," Demetri complimented.

"Thanks," She flashed him a smile, "Aren't you coming?"

"In a minute. Save a few for me."

Heidi nodded and disappeared through the door, but not before one last glance at Bella.

Edward pulled Bella as fast as her legs would carry her but it didn't help. The screaming started before we left the hall, leaving a tingling in our ears and a shiver down our spine.

Demetri left us in the reception area and turned to us in his haste to return.

"Do not leave until dark." He warned.

Edward hadn't nodded once before Demetri had disappeared through the door. The brief opening letting screams come through once again, I hoped the noise was too quiet for Bella to hear, It seemed we had a small amount of luck on our side.

Gianna curiously eyed Edward who was holding Bella, the cloak still wrapped around him. I was sure that she was speculating on why exactly he was wearing it.

"Are you all right?" Edward asked Bella quietly, concern flooding his voice.

Bella stood pale and teetered on the spot, her entire body shook, he teeth chattering. I knew that the shock had finally hit her. "You'd better make her sit before she falls." I warned, "She's going to pieces."

The sound of her sobs filled the room as Bella's chest heaved with the task of pushing them out, she was hysterical. Her body shook as it pushed the sound from her lungs. I'd never heard Bella make any noise close to this and it concerned me.

"Shh, Bella, shh," Edward soothed as he pulled her to the sofa that was placed further away from the desk and the curious gaze of Gianna. I followed quietly, I wasn't sure what to do.

"I think she's having hysterics. Maybe you should slap her." I suggested. They always seemed to do that in the movies, I couldn't see how it would hurt now. She was practically non responsive.

Edward looked at me, panic filled his entire face. He was as concerned as I was and Gianna was still staring. '_Hold her, Edward.'_ I suggested in my mind. I imagined it would be safer to talk this way.

Edward sat on the couch and pulled Bella onto his lap, wrapping the cloak and his arms around her. "It's all right, you're safe, it's all right." he reassured her, speaking in a soothing tone.

Her tear filled eyes looked at Edward as they spilled over, her body shuddered as she held back the sobs.

"All those people." she wept.

"I know,' Edward whispered, his voice still soothing and calm.

"It's so horrible."

"Yes, it is. I wish you hadn't had to see that."

Bella laid her head on his chest, and sucked in deep breaths as she tried to calm herself, I watched her, wishing there was something more I could do.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Gianna asked as she leant over Edward's shoulder. Her confidence surprised me, it seemed she had spent a long time in the company of these vampires to have no qualms about leaning over a vampire, whose patience had been run thin.

"No," Edwards voice was sharp and cold.

Gianna nodded, smiled briefly at Bella and then disappeared as quickly as she had approached.

"Does she know what's going on here? Bella asked.

"Yes. She knows everything." Edward answered.

"Does she know they're going to kill her one day?"

"She knows it's a possibility,"

Bella's eyebrows skyrocketed at the reply.

"She's hoping they'll decide to keep her." Edward said in disgust.

"She wants to be one of them?" Bella asked mortified.

Edward nodded and waited for her reaction, I'm not sure what he was hoping for but I was sure he was taking it all out of context.

Bella shuddered. "How can she want that?" she whispered, "How can she watch those people file through to that hideous room and want to be part of _that_?"

Edward's face reacted to the comment and I knew that I had to step in, his face had twisted giving away the pain of what Bella had said, he was taking it as though she didn't want to be one of us. I couldn't sit here and watch him torture himself whilst he tried to convince himself to leave her again. I had to make him understand part of it. The rest I would get to later.

'_Edward, she still wants you as much as you want her. She still wants to be one of us, what she's talking about is knowingly wanting to become one of them, one of the red eyed fiends who is feasting upon the poor unsuspecting tourists in there. She knows the difference and I think you should be a little more understanding about that. If you knew the conversation we had on the plane . . .'_ Edward's eyes flickered to me briefly. Bella's face was still buried in his chest. '_She loves you, Edward. I am going to let you two talk for now. But, as soon as we get out of here and thing quiet down we're going to have a talk.'_

Edward nodded to me with his eyes once again and sighed softly. Even Bella didn't notice.

"Oh, Edward," Bella cried and her body lapsed into another sobbing fit. Her tears were now streaming down her face freely. Edward looked at her his eyes full of concern.

As he held her sobbing figure I decided to double check our chances. I knew that we were out for now, and I didn't see them changing their minds, but I felt it would be better to look ahead and make crystal clear, that I was right.

That's when I saw his smiling face, my Jasper. He was at the airport waiting for us, looking as handsome and statuesque as ever, I smiled at my vision of him, I couldn't have asked for more in a husband. He was perfect in every way, and I would be in his arms by tomorrow.

Edward was still holding Bella's sobbing body, he looked completely lost.

"What's wrong?" He asked, rubbing her back gently.

Bella wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pulled herself closer to him. "Is it really sick for me to be happy right now?" she asked her voice breaking.

I felt a big smile break out on my face which was reflected by Edward. He pulled her closer to him and smelled her hair lovingly. "I know exactly what you mean," he whispered to her, his eyes twinkling in his happiness. "But we have lots of reasons to be happy. For one, we're alive."

"Yes," Bella agreed. "That's a good one."

"And together," he breathed into her hair. Bella nodded in reply.

"And, with any luck, we'll still be alive tomorrow."

"Hopefully," She replied, still with doubt in her voice.

"The outlook is quite good," I assured her. She looked surprised at the sound of my voice. "I'll see Jasper in less than twenty-four hours." I added trying to keep my pleasure at bay.

Bella turned her eyes back to Edward, she was still doubtful of him. Again, I wondered what he had told her to make her so convinced that he no longer wanted her. She was absolutely convinced he was going to take off again. I could see it in the way she looked at him. Although, as he gazed back at her, his dark eyes full of love, she seemed to relax, just a little.

Edward stroked under her eyes gently. She still had dark circles under them. All the more evident for her lack of sleep since our little charade started.

"You look so tired." he whispered.

"And you look thirsty," she replied not taking her eyes from him for one second.

He shrugged, "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked hesitantly. "I could sit with Alice,"

"Don't be ridiculous," he sighed. "I've never been in more control of _that_ side of my nature than right now."

As Bella lay in Edward's arms, drinking in his presence, Edward did the same, but we discussed how to get home. In my haste to get to where Edward was, I had left my phone in the bag in the alleyway. Our plan was that Edward and Bella make their way directly to the gates, at human speed so that the Volturi would see us leaving directly. I would circle as fast as I could through the alleys and shadows, where no one dare set foot at night, no matter how safe the city was. Pick up the bags, jump the wall and find a car. Not to mention call the airline and get the tickets arranged. I was glad I had become apt at multi tasking.

After we had everything organized we sat quietly for a moment. The day seemed to be dragging terribly. Due to, I'm sure, our surroundings.

"What was all that about _singers_?" I finally asked after the silence began to make my ears throb. The room had no windows and therefore had no muffled sounds not even from outside of the building. It was deafening and maddening all at the same time. I was trying not to disturb Edward and Bella's reunion too much but I was bored.

"_La tua cantante_," Edward repeated.

"Yes, that." I said raising my eyebrows.

Edward shrugged, "They have a name for some who smells the way Bella does to me. They call her my _singer_—because her blood sings for me."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, it sounded like such a silly explanation. But I was sure it made sense. Even I hadn't known quite how bad it had been for Edward. I knew that first day he had thirsted to where I could feel it, but the way Aro had described it from the depths of Edward's thoughts and memories. I felt guilty for not being more supportive, and more understanding. I had no idea it had been painful for him. That it still was.

While we all sat in silence, and I thought about Jasper, I missed him dearly and my body ached for him. This was perhaps the longest I had ever been apart from him, and I certainly didn't plan on doing it again any time soon. I longed for the strength of his embrace, the comfort of his emotions. The smile, that devastatingly handsome smile of his that could make me melt in a heartbeat.

I looked up to see Edward watching me with his eyebrows raised, I grinned and shrugged my shoulders in nonchalance. He had his love in his arms, I only had my memory until Jasper was within my reach once again.

I replayed the journey to Volterra in my head, now that there was a light at the end of the tunnel I could begin to truly appreciate the Porsche, the cool leather seats, the canary yellow paint, the pretty cursive turbo written on the back of it. The feel of it as I changed through the gears. It had been the smoothest ride I had ever been in, and I'd had no time to fully appreciate it's grace and style. I sighed quietly to myself. I would have to get one, I believed it suited me perfectly. Edward smiled at me again curiously. I knew he waiting for me to start the lecture, he would have to wait for that.

We sat quietly waiting for a decision, I was sure it must be growing dark by now, and I checked periodically to see if they would be sending anybody.

I saw the decision as soon as Aro made it, he sent Jane's twin Alec to come and dismiss us. He moved quickly and I nodded at Edward to alert him. He pulled Bella closer, not that it was necessary, she was practically part of him as it was. But her face immediately changed when she realized we were about to have company, she cringed slightly, anticipating the arrival.

Alec breezed through the door looking like nothing at all had transpired.

"You're free to leave now," he told us warmly. "We ask that you don't linger in the city."

"That won't be a problem." Edward's tone was ice cold and razor sharp.

Alec, still satisfied with his meal nodded, smiled and disappeared.

"Follow the right hallway around the corner to the first set of elevators," Gianna directed us, Edward stood, still gripping Bella to him. "The lobby is two floors down, and exits to the street. Goodbye, now."

I rolled my eyes and followed Edward and Bella from the room. As soon as we were in the elevators I felt the weight slowly release me, I knew we still had to get out of the city, but it would be easy in comparison to being stuck in that hell hole all day.

We stepped out on to the cool darkened streets, the festivities were still in full swing, although there were no more children present, and a new friend, alcohol, had begun making an appearance. The fangs worn by the children were now being fashioned by the adults. It seemed so pointless and ignorant, but I _was_ a vampire.

Edward nodded at me and I disappeared into the shadows, I ran flat out through every dark alley straight to the black hidden alley to retrieve the bags. The journey had been easier without the sun blocking all of the easy routes. I smelt the air around me, checking for vampires. Aro hadn't given out a formal order to follow us, but I wouldn't have put it past Caius. He had been disappointed about our freedom.

I found my way to the city walls, cell phone at my ear. I was getting frustrated at the woman on the other line, she continued to correct my Italian. It was impossible to keep all grammar and vocabulary perfect when you were running at full speed through a vampire city, and scaling a fifty foot wall. I was sure that the parking lot was just a little to the west of me, so I checked the other side before I dropped silently to the ground. I hung up the phone once the tickets had been purchased.

There was, unfortunately, no yellow Porsche in the parking lot. In fact, there was not one Porsche in sight. I sighed and looked at my choices. I settled on a Citroën C6. It was beautiful, but I had been spoiled by the Porsche. I used the skills Rosalie had taught me once again and had the car started. i would have to thank her for the handy skills once everything had returned to normal. I was sure she would appreciate that her talents had helped us out of this mess.

I drove to the shadows of the gate and waited, leaving the lights off and the engine running. I was lucky enough to have found a dark blue car, most were obscure colors. I had no idea what had been running through some of these humans minds. Why anybody would own a turquoise car was beyond me.

Bella and Edward came out of the gates and slid into the back of the car quietly.

"I'm sorry." I pointed toward the dash in exasperation. "There wasn't much to choose from."

"It's fine, Alice." Edward grinned. "They can't all be 911 Turbos."

I sighed happily. "I'll have to acquire one of those legally. It was fabulous."

"I'll get you one for Christmas." Edward promised.

I spun my head to look at him, I could see Bella's nervousness, she was afraid because I was already barreling down the curvy hillside at full speed.

"Yellow," I said happily. If Edward promised you something, especially a car, you got it. I was almost giddy. But I turned my attention back to the road. Because I was more interested in getting us to the airport so I could finally see Jasper. It felt like it had been months since I had seen him last rather than days.

"You can sleep now, Bella." I heard Edward murmur quietly. "It's over."

"I don't want to sleep, I'm not tired." Bella argued.

There was silence but it was broken when Edward muttered. "You're still just as stubborn."

I chuckled quietly to myself, I knew what Bella was doing, she was still so convinced Edward was going to leave again she was refusing to close her eyes.

We all sat in silence, and I knew that this was a good a time as any to begin speaking with Edward.

'_Edward?' _ I asked into the darkness of the backseat in my head. I could see them clearly so I waited for Edward's acknowledgment before I continued. He nodded.

'_I just want to let you know everything that's been going on. I have a feeling that you will not have any free time when we get home so it'll be safest to talk now. You need to understand what happened when you left her. _

_Bella didn't do so well, I spoke with Charlie while I was there. Edward, she was almost hospitalized because she was in such a state. She wouldn't eat, she wouldn't talk, she wouldn't sleep.'_

Edward closed his eyes, I knew my words were hurting him. But he had to hear it. He looked down at Bella briefly, who was still fighting sleep.

He nodded for me to continue. _'Charlie said he called Renee to come and get her but she flew into a wild tantrum and refused to leave Forks. Charlie relented and let her stay. After this she went into living dead mode, Charlie's words not mine!'_ I said looking at the frown Edward was giving me. '_Anyway, she walked around like that for months, barely functioning. Charlie said he was terrified. All of the people from school stopped calling, and she would only speak when spoken to, she wouldn't listen to music, read her books or watch television. Charlie said she was avoiding everything that reminded her of you!'_

Edward nodded sadly, he began smoothing Bella's hair gently.

'_Well, she made herself a friend, and she started getting a little better, but even Charlie admits, it was never great. Well, this friend it seems, disappeared and cut all ties with her abruptly, she was concerned and tracked him down, and well to cut a long story short. He had just phased for the first time as a werewolf.'_

Edward's look was of complete astonishment, he looked down at Bella and then back up at me incredulously.

'_Well, that pretty much got you caught up, I already told you about the wolf.'_

Edward's eyes grew wide, he was asking me a question.

'_Oh, you want to know about Laurent and Victoria?'_ I asked, he nodded slowly, trying not to disturb a very groggy Bella.

'_Well, Laurent's dead, the wolves killed him, which we owe them for. He was about half a second away from killing Bella. They were in your meadow. She doesn't know that I know about your meadow! Don't look at me like that! So anyway, she told me she went on a hike. But he saw her there tried to killed her but the pack showed up and killed him. But not before telling Victoria everything about us. So now, I'm sure she knows about your mind reading and my visions. The wolves have been keeping her away from Bella for the last couple of weeks, they've been running her out of there, but from what Bella was saying she's quite elusive.'_

I looked in the mirror to see Edward cock his head in shame.

'_I didn't mean that and you know it!'_

Edward smiled. I swallowed, now came the difficult part.

'_Oh, and Edward, I promised to change Bella if you didn't!'_

I kept my eyes on the road after that, I didn't look back once. The rest of the drive was silent. We reached the airport in Florence and I parked the car. It was less inconspicuous that way. Our connection was in Rome which was a short flight away. I bought Edward some clothes in Duty Free so that he didn't have to wear the ridiculous cloak, for the rest of the travel. The conversation was never brought up again at this point because, the lights had brought Bella into full consciousness once again. It seemed I would be in the arms of my husband when that conversation came around. That suited me fine.

In Rome our connection was almost Immediate, another thing I was thankful for, it was getting me to Jasper quicker. I sat behind Edward and Bella and waited for the seat belt light to ding off so I could call him. I knew he must be worried. I would be cursing him now if it had been the other way around.

As soon as the ding was sounded I swiped the card along the phone and dialed his number. His voice was like his touch, it sent shivers down my spine.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Jasper, it's me."

"I've been so worried, what's going on?"

"We're on our way home, all of us. It's a really long story so i will explain when we get home. I really don't want to retell it five times. You understand don't you"

He sighed into the phone, "Alice, I'm just happy that you're alright." He said and then shouted to everyone around him that we were all safe and on our way home. I could hear the celebration in the background.

"We're flying into Seattle, are you still in Alaska?" I asked. My tone was growing desperate, the thought of spending a second longer than necessary away from him was torturous. My vision had seen him at the airport, but I hadn't concluded which airport it had been.

"We're actually in Forks. Esme made the decision, she said we never should have left. So we came back not knowing what the outcome was. She had a plan for everything though."

I laughed. "Of course she did, she's Esme."

"What time is your plane getting in?" He asked sounding just as Desperate as I was feeling.

"I think it's around five, I know we have a connection in Atlanta."

"I'll be there, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, I'll be home soon."

"I love you, Alice."

"I love you, Jasper." I said before hanging up the phone.

The phone call ended too quickly, but speaking to him had made me all the more desperate to see him, I was sure the entire family was suffering from the emotions he was emitting right now, it made me smile to just think about it. I was growing impatient and the waiting was distracting to me. When would this nightmare be over?

A couple more hours, I thought to myself, a couple more hours.

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**A/N: Okay , I hope that answered your questions lol. I know she didn't end up in Jasper's arms this chapter, but if I'd of kept writing it would have become a novel rather than a chapter lol.**

**To Caww and swimbutterfly, thank you for the questions, they helped fill in the holes I think. I really appreciate the feedback. and that statement is true of every reviewer, YOU ROCK! and I appreciate the time you take to write them. (Sorry, I know it sounds like I'm accepting an oscar or something weird like that.**

**link to playlist and a link to the Citroen C6 is on my profile, as well as a link to a pic of the Porsche :)**


	27. Chapter 26 Somewhere I Belong

_The Twilight universe and all of the wonderful characters than inhabit it, belong to the talented Stephenie Meyer._

**_Songs For the Chapter:_**

_My Sacrifice - Creed, Safe Place - Staind, Ice - Sarah McLachlan, Possession - Sarah McLachlan_

_**quick A/N:** Ok, so I messed up in the last chapter, their plane would have got in to Seattle at ten am not five pm. . . my bad ;0_

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**Chapter Twenty-Six - Somewhere I Belong**

As the plane touched down I could feel the anticipation growing inside of me, he was so close I could swear I could hear him calling me. I knew it was just my heart aching for him. There was nothing more I wanted than to be looking into those eyes of his and telling him exactly how I felt. Edward, who still had Bella in his arms would occasionally peek over the seat at me, I knew he was trying to calm me down, but at this point nothing would work.

Bella was still awake, but barely. She looked more exhausted than I had ever seen her and I felt slightly guilty. Lucky for us it had all worked out perfectly. We were alive and we were almost home. I'm sure fatigue was an easy trade off. i knew that if I could have slept I would have. But Bella's stubborn streak was holding on to the idea that Edward didn't want her. He would take care of that.

The plane seemed to take a lifetime to taxi into the gate, I was beginning to believe they were doing it purposely. As soon at the seatbelt lights were off I was out of my seat and pulling both bags from the overhead compartment. I was dancing on the spot waiting for Bella and Edward to get out of their seats. Bella was so tired she was moving even slower than normal, but I didn't press the matter. She had been through so much, and helped us more than she would ever know.

We headed through the gates, I was craning my neck. I knew they were here, and that's when I saw him.

My heart felt like it had come to life again in my chest, every inch of my being wanted to run and jump into his arms but I knew that the emotions from that alone could cause an unexplainable surge of love and who knows what else around the airport. Our eyes connected and I headed straight towards him, stopping next to him we stared at one another for the longest time, I was sending him every emotion in my body and his dancing eyes spoke to me showing me every ounce of love that I was sending to him. My entire body flashed with the electricity between us, surge after surge of love washed over me. I was so happy I was close to crying. Everything I had wanted to say to him, everything I had thought of on the trip home came flooding out with no need for words. It was the most public reunion, but also the most intimate, I had ever experienced. Every emotion he had, connected with me, I wanted to go home and lay in his arms and never leave them again. I was home, I was complete, my heart was whole and full of love. We had no idea what was going on around us for the longest time, we were lost in one another.

After a while we were broken away from our reunion as Carlisle touched my arm gently. I looked at him and hugged him briefly.

"You two ready to go home," He asked grinning as his eyes danced between us.

I nodded probably a little to eagerly at this point, but picked up Jasper's hand and followed Carlisle slowly from the airport. The small touch of our skin sent a heat wave surging through my body. I looked at Jasper and smiled. His returning smile made me understand just how much the feeling was mutual. I would never leave his side again.

Edward and Bella headed towards the Mercedes that was parked under dim lights in the garage. I could see Rosalie and Emmett leaning against it waiting for us. I knew that Rosalie would apologize as soon as I saw her, it flickered into my mind briefly. I knew I would forgive her, maybe not as easily as she would like, but I would forgive her.

Carlisle approached us again and smiled gently. "It seems we'll be riding with you two."

"Oh good, we can talk." I said perking up a little. Jasper chuckled at my enthusiasm and pulled me along with him towards the Volvo. Jasper took the drivers seat and I sat in the passenger side. We waited patiently as Carlisle waited for Esme. She was encouraging Edward to ride with Rosalie and Emmett.

"I'm so glad you're home. I was worried." Jasper whispered quietly as he traced the features of my face with his fingers.

"I know you were. I missed you terribly." I said as I reached for the hand on my face and kissed the palm of it gently.

"At least you knew I was safe." he sighed as his thumb gently traced the line of my jaw.

"Jasper, this was the only thing that would have worked. But I'll make a promise to you now. I will never go anywhere without you again. It's too painful."

He nodded in agreement. I smiled. I finally felt like myself. We sat in silence, just looking at one another. I was so oblivious to anything but Jasper, that when the doors opened and Esme and Carlisle climbed in, it made me jump.

"Well, I hope they can talk it out." Esme's gentle voice finished as she pulled the door closed. "Hello, Alice. How are you?" She directed at me, residual concern lacing her voice.

"Fine, now I'm home." I said honestly.

"Was it that bad?" Carlisle asked.

"We very nearly didn't make it. Bella, thankfully, got to him and pushed him in to the shadows, if she'd been even a couple of seconds longer, he'd be dead. Then your friends, Carlisle, I'm not sure I would ever like to visit _them_ again. I believe you would have been surprised by the hostility. Although Aro remembered you fondly."

"Yes, well it wasn't the best circumstances in which to visit them really, was it?" Carlisle said regretfully. He had always spoken so kindly of his friends in Italy. I was sure he felt some burden of playing their authority down. Although, I would never see it like that. I had always feared them, with Jasper's history of them, it was hard not to.

"So, Alice, is Edward going to be coming home tonight? Or is he leaving you with the burden of story telling?" Esme asked sweetly.

I sat in silence as I looked. Edward was going to be thrown out of the Swan's house by Charlie. He would indeed leave gracefully and get in the car with Rosalie and Emmett. He would, however, get out of the car once it was out of sight of the Swan's and run back to the house and through Bella's window.

"Sorry, Esme, it looks like your stuck with me." I grinned at her.

"Oh, Alice I didn't . . ." Esme started but I stopped her by holding up my hand.

"Esme, please, don't be silly. You haven't seen Edward in months. It's only natural you want to spend time with him. But I'm letting you know now, chief Swan isn't too happy with him after what Bella went through, and then with her disappearance. So you will be seeing more of him."

Esme shook her head sadly, I knew that chief Swan's recollections of the events since we left, was going to be a topic of conversation tonight. I could see the guilt in Esme's eyes. She was blaming herself again.

"I'll wait till we get home and then Rose and Emmett can hear the events too." I said smiling encouragingly.

Both Carlisle and Esme nodded. We were a fair way home now, Jasper had been driving throughout the conversation. I knew he was looking forward to getting me home so we could be alone, but just looking at him I knew he understood. He was letting me know in his own way. I picked up his hand and didn't let go until we got home.

As we pulled up to our large white house, it was evident that they had been working on it in our absence. I knew that Esme would need to keep herself busy out of worry and the house was telling the story. The meadow, that had been overgrown when I had come here a couple of days ago was now trimmed to perfection. It looked as though we'd never left. The house looked warm and inviting instead of cold and hollow. They'd been working hard.

Jasper pulled the Volvo into the garage and we each stepped out and headed towards the house. I just wanted to sit in the enclosure of Jasper's arms. I could do anything now that he was by my side. I had never realized how much I had depended on him for strength until now. It wasn't in the terms of physical strength, but that of emotional. The term absence makes the heart grow fonder had a whole new meaning for me now.

The afternoon was dark and wet, it was a particularly overcast day and I was glad of it. It seemed very fitting for the home coming, and it would allow us all a little bit of freedom. As soon as I entered the house I could feel every inch of tension leave my body. I was home.

Jasper fell into the closest couch and I dropped lightly into his lap. He wrapped his arms snugly around my waist and pulled me to him nuzzling his head in my neck. The soft sigh he released told me he was home. I smiled to myself.

Esme and Carlisle took a seat with us. I knew it would be easier to get some things out of the way while we were alone, so I started.

"I would like to say, while we're alone," I said, getting the attention of both Esme and Carlisle. "I understand Rosalie is sorry, but I think that Edward and I have a right to be angry. No matter how you look at it, she almost got us killed. I specifically told her to let me confirm my vision. She blatantly went against everything I had told her. I will forgive her, I already know this. But we need to talk before it can happen."

"That's . . . reasonable." Esme said nodding her head, she looked at Carlisle.

"It's perfectly fair."

I smiled at them as I ran my fingers along Jasper's arm. We waited quietly for the sound of the Mercedes, and it didn't take long. Although, Emmett's booming laugh could be heard before they had pulled into the garage. I missed the little things like the sound of people moving around and laughing amongst themselves. This was the closest we'd been to normality since we let in September. It made our home coming all the more sweet.

It didn't take them long to get to the door, I could hear Emmett encouraging Rosalie as they approached. I knew then that she was more ashamed than I could have imagined, more than I believed she was capable of. It was then that I forgave her, I knew that I would have to still talk to her about it, but she was forgiven. I stood as the door opened silently. Rosalie stepped into the door and I approached her quickly. Carlisle and Esme held their breath and Emmett stood ready to defend his wife. Rosalie looked resolved to the expected outcome, but I shocked them all by throwing my arms around her and pulling her into an embrace.

"Alice?" Rosalie mumbled into my hair, obvious shock lacing the ethereal tones of her voice.

I pulled back and held her at arms length, I simply smiled at her.

'Okay, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting." she said in disbelief.

"Well, it seems to me you've beat yourself up enough. I think we still need to talk, but I forgive you."

"Oh, Alice." This time Rosalie shocked me by throwing her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek. I was shocked Rosalie had never been someone who enjoyed showing their affection.

I stepped away from her once again and smiled. I headed towards Jasper and once again dropped into his lap, his arms were immediately around me again.

"Well, for now I think I should explain everything that happened, while we were gone, when I came back, and Volterra." I grimaced slightly. "I should also get this little beauty out of the way first. I'm still awaiting Edward's wrath."

As Rosalie and Emmett took their seats, Esme and Carlisle frowned at me.

"What is it, Alice?" Esme asked concerned, I knew that the word wrath was the one that tipped her over the edge.

"Well, on the plane ride to Italy, I promised Bella something . . . something I really had no right to promise, by she will undoubtably want to cash in."

"Which is?" asked Carlisle.

"I told her I would change her."

Carlisle laughed and picked up Esme's hand, relief spread across his face. "Yes. Well, I could see how that would induce Edward's wrath, but I think all things considered, it's becoming more of a probability at this point."

I nodded in agreement, but the look on Rosalie's face told me she didn't agree. I let it drop, it would come up again. As Carlisle said, it was more of a probability now.

"Well, I guess I should start at when we left. I asked Charlie to explain to me how Bella had dealt with us leaving, and I was shocked when he said that in the first week they considered hospitalizing her."

Carlisle's understanding was immediate, he nodded, but his expression was somber.

I told them every detail, the bad months, the friendlessness and solitude. Esme was silent and held a look of sadness that told me if she could have cried, she would have. Rosalie looked just as morose, for the first time she seemed to really understand Bella. It was a mystery to me, and always would be, I was sure.

"Then she made a friend," I continued, but each one of their faces told me that they weren't expecting it to be happy news. "Of course, it was Jacob Black, from the reservation."

"A Quileute?" asked Emmett, sounding astonished.

"Yes, in fact the one that told her about us being vampires. Well, they were friends and he seemed to ease her pain a little, Charlie tried to convince me that she was happy, but even he couldn't admit that. I could tell by the mess of her she wasn't successful. Anyway, he stopped showing up and taking her calls after he fell sick, his father was telling Bella he had mono, but retracted the statement later on because she threatened to stop by. So he told her they got it wrong and he was out with friends. Bella became a little depressed again, her silver lining had taken a walk on her and she was left alone. She had taken to hiking with this . . . Jacob and to relieve some frustration, she took herself out to a trail, she didn't tell anybody either. Apparently, there had been some bear sightings and Charlie had asked her not to wonder in the forest alone, because there had been some attacks. But you know Bella, stubborn as an ox, went anyway."

"Bella, hiking?" Emmett asked laughing, we all knew how clumsy Bella was, so it wasn't a complete insult.

Rosalie slapped him gently on the arm to quiet him and nodded for me to continue.

"Well, on her hike, Bella ran into an old friend . . ." Esme stopped breathing and Carlisle sat forward. Rosalie raised her eyebrows. "Laurent." I concluded.

Each of them reacted like a perfect audience should, there was outrage, disgust, anger and fear.

"What was he doing here?" Carlisle asked.

"He was apparently checking on things for Victoria, he told Bella that Victoria had planned to take revenge by killing Bella."

"Victoria?" Rosalie asked, confused. "Wasn't Edward supposed to be tracking her?"

"He lost the trail." I explained. "Remember, he was in Texas and the doubled back to see if he could find her."

"So Victoria and Laurent had spoken?" Carlisle asked, his voice full of concern.

I nodded. "So now she knows, everything about us. I'm sure he had plenty of questions for Tanya whilst he was there!" I said filling in the gap no one had picked up.

"She will know about the visions, and the mind reading, and my ability to manipulate emotions." Jasper said quietly.

I nodded. "But we'll never know how much he was able to tell her."

"Why's that?" Emmett asked, he looked like he would happily track down Laurent and kill him.

"Well, he . . . um . . . he almost killed Bella." I spat out. It was the most difficult part of the story for me. Bella's near death experiences were not something I enjoyed reliving.

The room was silent and the horrified looks of my family made me realize that they were, for once, speechless.

"How did she escape that?" Rosalie asked, her eyes wide.

"Narrowly, and not without help. It seems that the Quileutes are back to their old tricks. Bella was saved by a pack of five werewolves."

I stopped and waited for the reactions. They were again shouting over one another in disbelief and anger. I waited for them to quiet down before I once again continued.

"The pack killed Laurent, and Bella headed for home. Only to suffer more. Now she thought that Laurent and Victoria were after her, she had no idea that the wolves had killed Laurent. Bella avoided her friend, she didn't want to endanger him, but when she grew concerned that he had been recruited by a new gang that was calling themselves 'protectors' or something like that, she grew concerned and headed down towards the reservation to confront him. He was very rude to her and sent her away, crushed and once again in pain."

My audience had put two and two together and realized what had been going on.

"Does she know?" Carlisle asked, concern once again winning out over astonishment.

"Of course she does, " I said. "What worries me is that he has only been phasing for a couple of weeks. She truly had no idea, how much danger she was in."

"So how'd she find out?" Emmett asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"She guessed, he was forbidden to tell her so he reminded her of the story that lead her to the truth about us."

Emmett nodded.

'Well, it came out that they had been chasing a red headed vampire around and this is what lead to the jump. Once they figured out that Victoria was circling forks for Bella, they protected her, mostly by keeping her close to them, on their land, but she grew bored. So . . . the dog had promised to take her Cliff diving for recreation, but he never showed so she went alone."

"Ahh, the vision!" said Carlisle. "So how did she get out of that, weren't you certain that she was under for too long?"

"I was but it turned out she wasn't under for long, the dog saved her!"

"But . . ." Esme started.

"Why didn't you see that, Alice?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know, but I haven't seen them at all in my visions. They were able to sneak up on me at Bella's house. I don't think I can see them."

"Interesting," said Carlisle, always the philosopher. "I'll have to do some research on that."

I nodded in agreement, they had no idea how annoying it had been.

After this brief discussion on lack of vision concerning the wolves I went on to explain what had transpired whilst I was here and how Edward had called to confirm Bella's death. I then continued with the story of how we made it to Italy. I also described the Porsche in great detail. Rosalie in particular was interested in this. She was happy that I'd used the skills she'd taught me.

"I told you they would come in handy, didn't I!" she said happily clapping her hands. I smiled and nodded. I was more interested in the car rather than how I broke into it, but I wasn't going to take Rosalie's one second of redemption from her.

Jasper cringed, he didn't like that I had been so close to the Volturi. He had always been admirable of the Volturi, but they also made him nervous. He'd had a long history and seen a lot of things. He particularly didn't like the fact that they had shown interest in us. Their interest in Bella seemed to bother him the most. He felt that they had been playing games.

Carlisle had been upset that Aro had gone through our minds, but was particularly impressed that Bella had also locked them from her mind. He promised to come up with some answers about that too.

By the time my story had come to an end, I had been talking for most of the day. The light was disappearing and the night was setting in. I was ready for some time alone with my husband.

It didn't take me long to escape the company of my family. As much as I loved them, I needed to be with Jasper, just he and I. No interruptions.

I excused myself and dragged Jasper along with me. We headed up the stairs quickly and into our room. Everything was back in it's place. Jasper had done a wonderful job with our room.

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him gently. He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me up to him, the height difference had it's perks. I wrapped my legs around his waist and his arms pulled me closer towards him. My lips made their way down to his collar and I kissed him softly.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again." he whispered.

I giggled and kissed the other side of his neck. He freed one hand to lift my chin so my face was level with his.

"Alice, you have absolutely no idea how much I love you."

I smiled at him as I ran my fingers through his hair. "Oh I think I do." I grinned and raised my eyebrows. In return, I was given a smile. Just the one I'd been waiting for. He headed towards the bed and placed me gently into the center of it.

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**A/N: Short but fluffy. :)**

**Hope you enjoyed, Thank you to those of you who reviewed and added alerts. YOU ROCK. Sorry some of the info was repeated, but that's what I saw happening whilst Edward was with Bella as she slept. Bella does ask Alice if she's explained after all. :)**

**Playlist link is on my profile. Let me know what you think ;)**


	28. Chapter 27 Family Meeting

_All things Twilight belong to the awesome Stephenie Meyer._

_The lyrics to Psychotic Girl belong to The Black Keys . . . No Comment lol_

**_Songs:_**

_Psychotic Girl - The Black Keys, Forfeit - Chevelle, Clocks - Coldplay, Stop and Say you Love Me - Evans Blue  
_

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**Chapter Twenty - Seven - Family Meeting.**

I lay quietly in Jasper's arms, this was the closest I ever got to sleep. I had never been more content. He stroked my hair gently, occasionally whispering random thoughts into my ear. After the passion always came a new level of intimacy, it was something I enjoyed just as much as the excitement of our passion.

These quiet moments gave me time to enjoy my husband, silence was never uncomfortable with us because so much was said in that silence, we had our own level of understanding. It was something no one understood.

I leaned over and gently settled my lips on his, I could feel his lips move as they developed into a smile. I pulled back gently and grinned at him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows, trying to keep the smile from my lips. "I wasn't aware I needed a reason."

He gently placed his index finger on my nose and traced it down to the tip. I tiled my head back and kissed his finger gently. Then I rolled off the bed.

"Where are you going?" he whined playfully.

I laughed as I headed towards the bathroom. "Shower. It's another luxury I haven't had in days."

He chuckled and watched as I danced daintily into the bathroom.

I turned the shower on as hot as it would go and waited as the steam filled the room. I could hear the music that began playing in our room and I smiled. Jasper was playing one of the CD's I had picked up the first night we'd gone to New Orleans.

I stepped into the hot water and sighed. The intensity of the heat felt comforting and I felt like I was beginning to wash the grime of Volterra from me. I was sure that if I could sleep I would probably have nightmares. I washed the memories away with the water and decided to try and forget the emotions that came with thinking about the Volturi, I knew I would have to keep a watch on them, and I didn't like the thought of feeling dirty every time one of their decisions flickered through my head, they had threatened to visit and something told me it wasn't an empty one.

As I stepped out of the shower I wrapped a towel around me and heard the beginning of the song that had drawn me to the bar where the band had been playing and I grinned to myself. I pulled open the door and stepped into the bedroom with a brush in my hand. I walked into the room swaying my hips in time with the beat. I'm sure it looked a lot more provocative than I thought it should, but I was already having fun.

I knew the cue for the lyrics, so I stopped and planted my feet. I could feel Jasper looking at me curiously. I pulled the brush close to my mouth and started mouthing the words in to the brush, using it as a makeshift microphone.

_I heard you're cool, you're mellow._

Jasper threw his head back and laughed.

_Pick 'em up, just ta let 'em down._

I started moving my shoulders in time with the music and grinning.

_It's shame, baby, but I always know..._

I stuck my arm out and pointed at him with my index finger, and I curled it beckoning him to me.

_Just the way, you're gonna do, oh no-oh._

_Oh, no-oh_

Jasper, walked towards me, he wasn't playing along but I hadn't expected him to, as he got close I placed my hand on his cheek and then slid my hand up into his hair.

_Just a psychotic girl,_

_And I won't get lost in your world._

I ruffled his hair and his eyes narrowed, he pulled me into his arms and I dropped the brush. I was laughing at his reaction. He spun me around and planted a kiss on my forehead before placing my on my feet so I could get dressed. I danced towards the closet and picked out something to wear.

It was then that I saw something strange, it was a vision but it sent me into a fit of giggles. Jasper was at the door in seconds, watching me curiously, his eyebrows raised.

"Sorry," I sputtered letting my laugh subside into giggles. "It's Bella. She just spent ten minutes trying to decide if Edward was real or not."

Jasper frowned, he couldn't understand what it meant.

My giggles left me and I sighed. "She has put so much effort into believing Edward didn't want her while we were away. So she kept herself awake the whole time we were in Italy and on the trip home because she didn't want to waste a second of time with him. So she's been passed out all this time and she woke up thinking she'd dreamt the whole thing."

Jasper's eyes reflected his opinion on this and it made my heart melt. He was concerned for Bella, he hated to think she had suffered so much she had become delusional. I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Edward will convince her otherwise, it seems he will have an eternity to do so." I said rolling on to my toes and kissing his neck. "They're talking it out right now."

Jasper nodded and kissed my damp hair. "It's almost back to normal."

"Yeah," I nodded happily, "but with one exception." I said as I heard light footsteps approaching our door.

"What's that?" he asked, curiosity dancing in his eyes.

"Rosalie's going to be nice to Bella!" I laughed.

"I HEARD THAT!" I heard Rosalie shouted as she walked past our door. I grinned and Jasper shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower." he said kissing my neck and disappearing from the closet.

I pulled on my clothes and walked back into the bedroom, picking up the brush I had dropped in Jasper's grasp. I pulled it through my short hair and danced to the music that was still playing quietly.

It felt good to be home. It felt good to feel normal. I made my way to the desk that Jasper's laptop was sat on and flipped it open. I hadn't seen my email in days. I was sure that some of the designer website's had noticed my disappearance. I opened up the mail program and signed into my account.

Most of it was advertising, trying to temp me to buy more things I really didn't need. I deleted each without opening them. I didn't need the temptation. No matter how good retail therapy sounded to me.

I noticed an email from artangel, and figured who it would be from, I clicked on it and waited for it to load. I smiled as the mail program announced that there were five attachments. I read the note quickly.

_Alice;_

_Hey we missed you down here, it was great aunt Alice's birthday a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't get a hold of you, your phone kept going straight to voicemail. I tried Jasper's but his did the same thing._

_Anyway, we all gather on her birthday. We spend a while at her grave, together. I was hoping you could be there this time but I guess I'll have to be more prepared next year :)._

_We took some photos, they are attached so you can see them._

_Call me later. _

_Angel._

_xxxxx_

I opened the attachments and was greeted with dozens of smiling faces around the grave stone. I smiled. It was nice to know that I was remembered. It seemed like a strange tradition, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

I heard the door to the bathroom open and Jasper headed towards me and looked over my shoulder. I rolled my head back and looked up at him. He bent to kiss me.

"What's this?"

"From Angel, they celebrated my birthday." I said, my voice cracking from the happiness. Jasper wrapped his arms around my shoulder and placed his chin on my head. I flicked through the pictures for him, he stroked my arm gently. I knew that he was soothing me, because he could feel my emotions. I smiled up at him, just to reassure him that this was a happy emotion.

I closed the programs and pulled the top of the laptop down, I sat in silence. I could feel a decision being made so I let my mind go and retrieve it. Bella and Edward were heading in this direction. I looked at the clock and raised my eyebrows it was closing in on two am.

"You better get dressed, Bella and Edward will be here any minute." I said grinning up at him again.

Jasper, mirroring my reaction looked at the clock. "But . . ."

"All will be revealed!" I said smiling again and standing from the chair I was perched on. Jasper turned and headed towards the closet. I headed back into the bathroom to fix my hair.

I had finally gotten my hair to cooperate when I received yet another decision from Bella . . . actually it was more of a realization, but she'd decided to go with it. She was realizing that Edward had never stopped loving her. She believed it with her entire heart and soul.

"Finally . . ." I said out loud.

"Finally, what?" Jasper asked as he stalked into the bathroom fully clothed, his blonde hair tousled from drying in the warm air of the house.

"Bella, just realized Edward never stopped loving her!" I laughed.

"Are they still coming?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're outside."

It didn't take long for the reconciliation to be complete and the truth to be said or rather declared. Soon they were walking in the door, and Edward was calling our names.

We followed everyone into the dining room and took our seats, I grinned at Bella, whereas everyone else seemed to be curious. Ah, the gift of being talented, no guessing involved. It made it easier to be prepared for situations like this. We sat patiently until everybody was situated. Carlisle nodded toward Bella.

"The floor is yours."

Bella looked nervous and swallowed, I knew that a house full of vampires giving you their undivided attention must be quite difficult, especially as a human.

Edward, sat next to Bella was glaring at each and everyone of us, Bella seemed to notice this too.

"Well," She paused again. "I'm hoping Alice has already told you everything that happened in Volterra?"

"Everything," I said in assurance.

Bella's eyes flashed to me, "And on the way?"

"That too," I nodded and stole a glance at Edward, his eyes were dangerous.

"Good," Bella sighed, "Then we're all on the same page."

Bella went silent for a while she seemed lost in thought but we patiently waited. She would spit it out when she was ready to.

"So, I have a problem," Bella started, she sucked in a long breath. "Alice promised the Volturi that I would become one of you. They're going to send someone to check, and I'm sure that's a bad thing—something to avoid."

I let my eyes flicker once again to Edward, his death stare was still boring into me and I prayed Bella didn't want to collect on my promise, because I was quite sure I would live to complete it.

"And so," Bella continued. "Now, this involves you all. I'm sorry about that."

Bella looked at each of us slowly, Edward corrected his glare before Bella's eyes reached him. He was now wearing a simple grimace.

"But, if you don't want me, then I'm not going to force myself on you, whether Alice is willing or not."

I was willing a black hole to open up again, but Esme interrupted my thoughts as she tried to speak. Bella stopped her.

"Please, let me finish. You all know what I want. And I'm sure you know what Edward thinks, too. I think the only fair way to decide is for everyone to have a vote. If you decide you don't want me, then . . . I guess I'll go back to Italy alone. I can't have _them_ coming _here_." the thought of that alone brought the crease of a frown on her brow.

Edward growled quietly in warning, we knew he was trying to intimidate us but I could have cared less about that, we each had our own minds and own opinions and I believed we had a right to use that.

"Taking into account, then, that I won't put any of you in danger either way," she said ignoring his attempts. "I want you to vote yes or no on the issue of me becoming a vampire."

A small smile appeared on Bella's lips as she gestured to Carlisle for him to start.

"Just a minute," Edward interrupted before Carlisle could even organize his thoughts.

Bella glared at him, her eyes were narrow and she looked dangerous. I was impressed, I didn't think she had it in her.

"I have something to add before we vote."

Bella sighed and I swore I saw an eye roll.

"About the danger Bella's referring to," Edward continued completely ignoring Bella's attempts to reprimand him. "I don't think we need to be overly anxious."

Edward placed his hand on the table and leaned forward, we had all expected him to come up with some genius plan, but like Carlisle had said, it was more probable than even. I think Edward was the only one truly fighting it. I had known all along that she would join our family in every way, but I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself. I didn't need any more glares from Edward. Jasper squeezed my hand under the table.

"You see," Edward continued, "there was more than one reason why I didn't want to shake Aro's hand there at the end. There's something they didn't think of, and I didn't to clue them in."

"Which was?" I asked. Bella looked skeptical, which wasn't far from the way I felt at the moment.

'The Volturi are overconfident, and with good reason. When they decide to find someone, it's not really a problem. Do you remember Demetri?" He looked at Bella for confirmation, but she just shuddered in response. I shook my head in disbelief as he continued.

"He finds people—that's his talent, why they keep him." Edward said triumphantly.

I looked at Bella again. She didn't look convinced, I knew I wasn't. But the Volturi would not be why I agreed to this anyway. The two of them were meant for one another, what was t he point in fighting that? And the girl was asking for it, here, now, she was asking us to vote yes because she wanted to be part of the family, and she wanted to be with Edward for eternity. What was so hard to understand?

"Now, the whole time we were with any of them, I was picking their brains for anything that might save us, getting as much information as possible. So I saw how Demetri's talent works. He's a tracker—a tracker a thousand times more gifted than James was. His ability is the . . . flavor? I don't know how to describe it . . . the tenor . . . of someone's mind, and then he follows that. It works over immense distances." he said looking around us all.

"But after Aro's little experiments, well. . ." Edward shrugged.

"You think he won't be able to find me," Bella said. I knew that she thought it was a long shot and I was sure that it wouldn't stop her plan for the vote. She had already decided upon it and she wouldn't be discouraged.

"I'm sure of it." he said smugly. "He relies totally on this other sense. When it doesn't work with you, they'll all be blind."

"And how does that solve anything?"

"Quite obviously, Alice will be able to tell when they're planning a visit, and I'll hide you. They'll be helpless." His eyes were bright as he continued to scheme. "It'll be like looking for a piece of straw in a haystack." his eyes now found Emmett and they both smirked. Edward knew Emmett was always up for a fight.

"But they can find you." Bella replied looking like he had completely missed the point, as it seems he had. This would be fine is she were trying to protect herself, but in typical Bella fashion she was trying to protect us all.

"And I can take care of myself." Edward said, completely clueless.

Emmett reached across the table for a moment of male bonding, he extended his fist.

"Excellent plan, my brother." he said with a little too much enthusiasm for my taste. Edward extended his arm and his fist connected with Emmett's.

"No," Rosalie hissed.

"Absolutely not." Bella agreed.

"Nice." Jasper grinned, which was short lived seeing as I kicked him under the table.

"Idiots." I contributed rolling my eyes.

Esme's face looked fierce as she glared at Edward, obviously she agreed that the idea was stupid.

Bella wiggled in her chair and then sat up straight, she was taking control again. I smiled encouragingly.

"All right, then, Edward has offered an alternative for you to consider," Bella said, her voice had a slight edge to it. She hadn't appreciated Edward's attempt. "Let's vote."

Bella looked directly at Edward now, he'd put up a fight so she was certain of his answer. "Do you want me to join your family?"

Edward's expression flattened out and his eyes became as dark as his mood had just turned. "Not that way. You're staying human."

Bella nodded, her face not showing an ounce of emotion. She looked directly at me.

"Alice?"

"Yes." I answered simply, not only had I known it all along, I already loved her as a sister, she was also my best friend.

"Jasper?" Bella asked moving on.

"Yes." he agreed.

Bella moved on.

"Rosalie?"

Rosalie hesitated, she was biting on her lip, not even I was sure of her answer, she was still flip flopping around. She didn't want to hurt Bella's feelings but she didn't want to just take away her mortality. Finally, she decided. "No."

Bella moved on, her face was still void of emotion, she was trying to be diplomatic. Rosalie held up her hands palm forward, she wanted to say something.

"Let me explain," she begged, she didn't want the small truce between Bella and herself to be ruined, and I knew why. It wasn't the most sincere reason, but it was acceptable. "I don't mean that I have any aversion to you as a sister. It's just that . . . this is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I wish there had been someone there to vote no for me."

Bella nodded and turned to Emmett.

Emmett grinned. "Hell yes, we can find some other way to pick a fight with this Demetri."

Bella grimaced and continued on to our sweet mother, Esme, I had no doubt at all what her vote would be. She already held Bella in her heart as one of her children. It's what she had felt since she had known of Edward's love for her.

"Yes, of course, Bella. I already think of you as part of my family." Esme smiled.

"Thank you, Esme." Bella said quietly and turned to Carlisle. She suddenly looked like all the wind had been taken out of her sail. She seemed unsure of how his vote would go. I had no doubts at all but he prepared his answer. Carlisle was looking at Edward.

"Edward," his calm, even voice spoke. I knew that this was the only way he could voice his answer.

"No," Edward's answer came as a growl and his lips curled to bare his teeth.

"It's the only way that makes sense," Carlisle said, his voice insistent. "You've chosen not to live without her, and that doesn't leave me a choice."

Edward pushed himself from the table aggressively and paced out of the room a ripping snarl emitting quietly from him as he left.

"I guess you know my vote." Carlisle said turning to Bella and sighing. I knew that he hated upsetting Edward like that. The had such a close bond, but he was also one of the most honest people I knew, he spoke his mind.

Bella's eyes were still trained to where Edward had exited the room. "Thanks," she mumbled but it was drowned out by a rather loud crash coming from the living room. I winced knowing what it was, and I knew Emmett would not be thanking him for it.

Bella flinched and spoke quickly, the noise had unnerved her. "That's all I needed. Thank you. For wanting to keep me. I feel exactly the same way about all of you, too." Bella's voice became rough with emotion and Esme was at her side in a second, her arms wrapped around her in support.

"Dearest Bella," She said lightly. We all knew how big of a decision she had made in coming here. Her mind had been set on what she wanted, and in an attempt at being diplomatic, she had put her fate in our hands. She'd gotten the outcome she wanted. But I knew her heart went out to Edward. She hated seeing him upset.

Bella hugged Esme back and I noticed her glancing at Rosalie. I knew that she appreciated what Rosalie had tried to do. I believed Rosalie had acted selflessly tonight, she wasn't being mean or aggressive. She wanted Bella to chose to live, to make the choices she never had the opportunity to.

"Well, Alice," Bella said, bringing my attention to her. "Where do you want to do this?"

I could feel the terror rising in me, she wanted to do this now? Edward would literally kill me and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, I could kill her. She couldn't expect me to do this right now, I hadn't hunted since before we left for Italy. It would be dangerous. And did I already mention Edward would _kill_ me.

"No! _No! _NO!" Edward's voice was loud and enraged. I shrank in my seat waiting for the onslaught. He charged into the room with a vengeance but bypassed me and was bent over Bella. His face was contorted with fear and anger. Not a good combination. I sank lower in my seat, and Jasper squeezed my hand trying to give me the support I so desperately needed.

"Are you insane?" Edward shouted at Bella. "Have you utterly lost your mind?"

Bella cringed away from him, her hands over her ears, he was literally screaming at her.

"Um, Bella," I said quietly, I could hear the anxiety lacing my voice. I didn't want Edward to turn on me. "I don't think I'm _ready_ for that. I'll need to prepare. . . ."

"You promised," Bella said around Edward's arm, she was glaring at me.

"I know, but . . . Seriously, Bella! I don't have any idea how to _not_ kill you." I said praying she would let me out of this, I was hoping someone else would bail me out. I had seen Edward changing her so many times, I was sure it would be him.

"You can do it," Bella said, her voice full of bravado as she tried to encourage me. "I trust you."

Edward's snarl sealed the deal for me. He was literally scaring me. And as much as I appreciated her faith in me, I really didn't want to die at the hand of my brother. I shook my head quickly. I had no idea what expression I was wearing.

"Carlisle?" Bella asked turning in her seat to look at him.

Edward wrapped his hand around Bella's face and turned it to him. I couldn't believe he was being so rough with her, it wasn't enough to hurt her, but I was sure it was enough to scare her. His other hand was palm out to Carlisle.

"I'm able to do it." Carlisle said ignoring Edward's gesture. "You would be in no danger of me losing control."

"Sounds good," Bella said, her words sound jumbled because of the manner in which Edward was holding her face.

"Hold on." Edward pushed the words through his clenched jaw, he really wasn't happy. "It doesn't have to be now."

"There's no reason for it not to be now," Bella said stubbornly, her words still distorted from the hold Edward had on her.

"I can think of a few."

"Of course you can," Bella said mirthlessly. "Now let go of me."

Edward dropped his hand and folded his arms stubbornly across his chest.

"In about two hours, Charlie will be here looking for you. I wouldn't put it past him to involve the police."

"All three of them." Bella said frowning.

I was feeling so uncomfortable I wanted to slip out of the room but like the rest of the family I sat planted in my chair, too afraid to make any kind of movement, in fear of invoking the wrath of this highly antagonized Edward.

I leaned in closer to Jasper and he wrapped his arm around me. I could feel the stress level go down as he eased the serenity over me. He kept it between us for the same reason I didn't move. He didn't want Edward's rage to be turned onto him.

"In the interest of remaining _inconspicuous_," Edward pushed through his clamped teeth, "I suggest that we put this conversation off , at the very least until Bella finishes high school, and moves out of Charlie's house."

"That's a reasonable request, Bella." Carlisle agreed.

"I'll consider it." was Bella's only reply.

I could feel the tension lifting from the room. Edward had managed to buy himself more time. I actually felt sorry for Bella, he would do everything in his power to talk her out of this for the next few months. I would do everything I could to help her, except get Edward this angry again, or promise to change her.

Edward relaxed and his jaw eased open, I watched him as his mind worked, it was so obvious it was like watching the cogs on the inside of a watch turn each other.

"I should probably take you home," Edward sounded normal again. "Just in case Charlie wakes up early."

Bella looked at Carlisle in defiance. "After graduation?"

"You have my word." Carlisle said. It was good as a signed deal. Carlisle always kept his word. I let the air out of my lungs slowly and quietly.

Bella turned to Edward, "Okay, you can take me home."

We didn't have a chance to sat goodbye because Edward had disappeared with her out the back door. I leaned my elbows on the table and placed my head in my hands.

"That was intense." I said trying not to laugh hysterically now the moment was over. Intensity had a strange reaction with my the only way to release it was to laugh. hysterically at that, but the was not the time nor the place.

Everyone began unsticking themselves now and Emmett wondered into the living room, the string of profanities that followed him confirmed my suspicions. Edward had broken the plasma, Emmett's pride and joy.

"Eh, Jasper." I whispered under my breath.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should go to our room now!"

"I think you're right." he said. We both stood up and he picked up my hand.

"Too late!"

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**A/N: Okay, I'm not sure how you will all feel about what happened in the bedroom. You could see it as being out of character, but I can see Alice being that playful whilst she's alone with Jasper. :) - Lolly12; Thanks for the idea ;0P  
**

**Only the Epilogue left. I will probably start Alice's version of Eclipse this weekend, I'm stuck for a name. i keep coming up with things but I trash them or forget them!!**

**Oh Well, let me know what you think. The playlist is available by link from my profile. the song Alice sings is on it, so if you haven't heard it and would like to :) **

**Thank you so much to the people who have reviewed and added my story to the faves or alerts YOU GUYS ROCK, and seriously you make my day most days:) K, I'm gonna shut up now, if you have any ideas for the title of Alice's Version of Eclipse . . . :P**


	29. Epilogue

All Things in the Twilight universe, including the characters that inhabit it, belong to the talented Stephenie Meyer.

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**Epilogue:**

Charlie ended up grounding Bella, which hadn't really been a big surprise, Edward was allowed to visit but his time was moderated. I, however, was free to come and go as I pleased. For some unknown reason, Charlie had developed a fatherly relationship with me and he considered me Bella's best friend.

He'd asked me once whether I had known that Edward and the rest of the family were returning when he'd spoken to me, whilst I had been here before. I was honest with him and told him that, at that point, there had been no plans for the family to return.

Edward, had been relieved that Bella could not come to the house at first, Emmett's retaliation for the TV had caused a huge mess in the house and it took a while to get things back to normal. Although Edward had destroyed the first thing he had come in contact to out of pure anger, Emmett's TV, Emmett was a lot more methodical. He'd smashed Edward's piano to pieces and dragged the bare carcass of it up to Edward's room.

Esme had not been happy about that, but when it came to the boys, she usually let them fight it out amongst themselves. Within a week I had replaced the TV and the piano, and the showdown that had happened between Edward and Emmett when he returned home was never to be spoken of again.

Everything was back to normal now, except poor Bella's grades, whilst in Italy she had missed a calculus test that had brought her average down. It wasn't good and looked as though it may hinder her from graduating. I had tried to talk Edward into convincing the teacher to change it and let her retake the test but, Edward, being Edward, decided if she had to repeat the year it would give him more time. So I stepped in and was able to get her a second chance.

Edward, had very unromantically proposed to Bella the night of the vote. I had seen it that night. I was furious at him, as soon as he had gotten home I had cornered him and explained, as nicely as I could, that proposing to a girl as an ultimatum wasn't the best way about getting a yes. He looked remorseful so I let it go, but not without promising me that he would do better the next time.

In his jealousy Jacob Black had effectively gotten Bella an extended sentence, he had taken the motorcycle that she had bought to her house for Charlie to see. And then waited in the woods for Bella and Edward to arrive. He had then threatened them with the treaty. Edward had told me of the thoughts that Jacob had running through his head, as he remember what Bella had been like after he'd left. It was a cruel thing of Jacob to do, but I was sure that Edward had finally understood. This was of course aided by Charlie who continually thought of that first week whenever Edward was around, simply because he feared it would happen again.

Victoria had yet to make another appearance since we had arrived home. I took this as good news. Perhaps she'd gotten the hint. I wasn't sure because I couldn't really see any decisions she made, purely because she seemed not to be making any. I had decided that she had probably continued on in her existence on her pure instincts.

Jasper continued his studies on philosophy at Cornell but through correspondence. He was still top of his class. Some things never changed.

**A/N: I know short . . . very short!**

**I just wanted, more than anything, to let you know what Emmett had done and why they were too late. :)**

**Payback is . . . fill in the blank with any word you see fit lol.**

**Ok so I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use the poll thingy, so if you could let me know which you would prefer as the title of Alice's version of Eclipse I would Mucho appreciate.**

**I would like to start it tomorrow, so I am going with majority rules lol.**

**Okay we have. . .**

_Moonlit Mile (Thanks for that one Maggie :)_

_The Art of War_

_Shadows of the Moon_

_The Dark Side of Light_


	30. Thanks

Thanks:

Okay this is like an authors note I guess. I would like to thank each and every one of you who reviewed, you really helped me get through the story, it's very encouraging knowing people are out there reading the things I enjoy writing. It's also fun to know that people enjoy Twilight just as much as I do. I'm so glad Stephenie Meyer writes and shares lol.

The Majority have spoken . . . Alice's version of Eclipse will be . . . **The Dark Side of Light.**

I know I said I was going to start tomorrow but I'm starting now. ;0P I couldn't wait any longer too many words in my head and as Crazy as it sounds, the characters , mainly Alice, keep bouncing around in my head.

Like I said before, in the words of E. A. Poe "I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity."

With that said . . . I should have the first chapter up tonight ;0)

This is for Jaimie: I just got your review on Chapter 4: Jasper's last name is also Hale and Alice occasionally uses it when they are somewhere alone. Sorry for any confusion. I guess I should have mentioned why she used the name. lol.: I would have sent you a PM but you came across as anonymous ;0)

Okay, I can't head out without saying **YOU ROCK, YOU ROCK, and yes! YOU ROCK.** I hope to see you on the Dark Side of Light ;0)


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